'Ambani won't go out of business': Musk says Starlink competition would benefit Indians

Musk says Starlink’s entry into India would give consumers more choices

NEW DELHI: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Sunday said that competition from Starlink would "benefit Indian consumers" by offering them more choices, arguing that Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani would not go out of business even if his profits declined. In a post on X, Musk criticised what he described as arguments made by Ambani’s supporters against Starlink’s entry into India, calling them “absurd hypocrisy and hyperbole”. “On the one hand, they say Starlink couldn’t possibly compete with the amazing low prices offered by Ambani’s de facto monopoly in India and then, in the same breath, they essentially claim that Starlink would be too strong of a competitor!” Musk wrote. “The reality is that competition would greatly benefit the average citizen in India by giving them more choices, as it always does. Ambani’s profits will be lower, but he is not going out of business,” he added. Musk also argued that Starlink would have to make its services affordable to attract customers. “And, obviously, if Starlink is too expensive in India, no one will buy it, so SpaceX will need to make pricing affordable,” he said. Musk’s latest remarks come amid a dispute over the delay in Starlink’s commercial rollout in India. On Friday, he took a swipe at Ambani, addressing him as “Prime Minister Ambani” and alleging that he was the “real boss of India”. “Dear Prime Minister Ambani, Please accept my humble apologies for not realizing that you are the real boss of India. Naturally, you would prefer to maintain your monopolistic exploitation of the great people of India, but would you nonetheless consider allowing Starlink to compete?” Musk wrote in an earlier post. He has also alleged that unnamed business groups are trying to obstruct Starlink’s entry to protect their market positions. The government has rejected the allegations, maintaining that the delay is linked to pending regulatory and security requirements.

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At the India Mobile Congress 2026 in New Delhi, Union communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said India would not permit a monopoly in any sector and that three satellite communication operators had received licences: Reliance Jio Satcom, Bharti Airtel-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Starlink. However, the government has said security clearances remain pending for the licensed operators. The satellite spectrum pricing framework is also being finalised, and commercial services can begin once the prescribed requirements are met.

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