“India’s real boss?” Elon Musk targets billionaire Mukesh Ambani as Starlink launch stalls

Elon Musk escalates his attack on India's delays in Starlink by directly naming Mukesh Ambani - Is Reliance Industries' Chair the real boss of India? Musk said this after he accused unnamed oligarchs of scuttling his satellite broadband service to preserve their telecom monopoly.

What Musk is claiming

Starlink has been working to comply with every Indian law and every regulation for five years, Mr. Musk says, and yet still cannot provide commercial service despite having secured a satellite-communications licence. He describes the delay as a "monopolistic chokehold" on Indian consumers, benefitting the entrenched Indian players.

The Ambani factor

Ambani’s Jio Platforms and Bharti Airtel currently have a combined share of about 80% of telecom and broadband users in India. In March 2025, Starlink entered into distribution partnerships with Jio and Airtel to retail its services and hardware in India following approval. Despite those deals and a licence granted last year, Starlink is still waiting for final security clearances and spectrum allocation before it can switch on.

Government and security issues

Indian officials reject claims of preferential treatment. The telecom department says security clearances are still required for all three satellite operators – Starlink, Jio and One Web – and dismisses the accusations of favoritism. Bloomberg reported in June that New Delhi had put the brakes on Starlink's final approval, citing security concerns that its terminals could be used in conflict zones even where the service is not licensed.

Political reaction: Gandhi drags Adani into it

The lot pits businessman Elon Musk's "Is Ambani the real boss of India? The post resulted in a political tit-for-tat as opposition leader Rahul Gandhi wrote, "Welcome to India, Elon. Now wait until you learn about the other fellow," a veiled reference to another tycoon with close ties to the government, Gautam Adani. Musk responded, "This is indeed troubling," amplifying the perception that corporate influence is shaping policy.

Ambani's own satellite plans

But the conflict isn't just a battle to prevent Starlink's interference Reliance is developing its own lowEarthorbit (LEO) system. "Jio will launch about 1,600 LEO satellites and 23 ground stations to fill the connectivity gap in India, compared to about 11,000 satellites operating globally for Starlink providing services to more than 170 countries," Akash Ambani, Mukesh's son and Jio Platforms' managing director, told shareholders in June. (Ambani later added that India "needs to create an indigenous stack of technologies".)

Wider trend of Musk business failures in India

It's not only the Starlink woes that the magnate is battling in the market. Tesla, the electric car company which Musk brought to India last year, has been facing a lukewarm response, with only slightly over 1,000 cars sold since launching in the country.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/09/musk-starlink-ambani-india-us.html