Indian billionaire targeted by Elon Musk broke his silence

The race to provide internet from space in India pitted the world's richest man, Elon Musk, against the country's most powerful businessman, Mukesh Ambani.

The first response came from Ambani's umbrella company, Reliance, to Musk's accusations that the Starlink project was blocked from entering India by Ambani.

The company announced that they have never shied away from competition, including Starlink, and that their satellite internet initiatives are awaiting security approval from the government, just like Starlink.

According to the Reuters agency, in the statement, which did not mention Musk's name directly, it was stated that "As Reliance, we have never been afraid of competition" and emphasized that the facts were wanted to be recorded against the allegations against the company and the Indian market.

This announcement in the Indian market, which has more than 1 billion internet subscribers, was made at a critical threshold when Reliance's digital arm Jio Platforms is preparing for the country's largest IPO.

The company aims to go public with a valuation of $108 billion for Jio, which includes its telecommunications unit with more than 530 million customers.

After Starlink's attempts to enter the Indian market for years failed, Musk accused Ambani and the Indian government of deliberately slowing down the process in his posts on the X platform.

Asking in his posts whether Ambani was the "real boss" of India, Musk addressed the businessman as "Prime Minister Ambani" and asked whether he would allow him to compete with Starlink.

The New Delhi administration, on the other hand, rejects the allegations of any bias or discrimination in the approval processes.

This attitude of Musk towards Ambani and the government marks a significant break compared to his warm public relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The process also coincides with New Delhi trying to attract foreign investment and negotiating a trade agreement with Washington.

Broadband internet service from space in India has the potential to connect hundreds of millions of people to the online world, especially those living in rural and remote areas who do not yet have internet access.

The government has so far granted operating licenses to Starlink, Jio's satellite internet unit and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb.

But none of these three companies have yet received the final security approval, which is a legal requirement to begin commercial broadcasting.

Stating that he will price Starlink to compete directly with Jio's cheap tariffs if it enters the market, Musk plans to use Ambani's own tactic.

Reliance had built its dominance in the telecommunications market with its Jio brand by offering completely low-cost internet packages.

Musk had previously implemented a similar price-cutting strategy in markets such as Kenya, shaking the market share of local telecommunications companies.