New Delhi: SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk Friday posted a mock open letter addressed to “Prime Minister Ambani”. He was accusing Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani of holding up Starlink’s launch in India, a charge the government has rejected. The post came hours after Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia said India “doesn’t allow monopoly in any sector”.
“Dear Prime Minister Ambani, please accept my humble apologies for not realising that you are the real boss of India,” Musk wrote. He asked whether Ambani would consider letting Starlink compete, and said parts of India without internet were losing out on education and trade. A follow-up post said Starlink had saved lives in disasters.
Musk has posted eight times on the subject since Wednesday. One of the posts also accused the BJP of crony capitalism.
Eight posts in three days
On Wednesday, a Starlink executive told the India Mobile Congress the company was ready to serve India. That evening, Musk said Starlink was being blocked by “certain oligarchs” and called it a crime against Indians. In other posts that day, he said Starlink would bring affordable internet to the rural poor. He also denied that a Starlink kit recovered in Manipur had been used by militants, saying Starlink’s beams are turned off over India.
On Thursday morning, the Ministry of Communications said, without naming Musk, that all three satellite licensees were at “broadly the same regulatory stage”. It called the allegation of discrimination “baseless and misconceived”.
That evening, Musk wrote that Starlink was licensed in over 165 countries and had spent five years complying with Indian law. “Is Ambani the real boss of India?” he asked.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi replied that Musk should “wait till you discover the other guy”, without naming anyone. Musk thanked him and called it “indeed troubling”.
Reliance and Jio have not commented. Jio director Akash Ambani declined to comment when asked at the India Mobile Congress.
Centre’s response
Scindia said Friday that three companies hold licences: Starlink, Jio Satellite Communications and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb. Spectrum would be assigned once the revenue-based charge was fixed, he said, and each could start services after clearing security. “There’s not a single party,” he said.
He accused the Congress of first opposing Starlink’s licence and now backing Musk.
Minister of State for Communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani said the file was with the Ministry oh Home Affairs and had “nothing to do with one company”.
If the ministry is right, Ambani’s own satellite venture is in the same queue as Musk’s.
Musk and New Delhi
In 2021, the government ordered Starlink to stop taking pre-orders in India without a licence. In June 2023, Musk met Modi in New York and called himself a fan of the Prime Minister. In 2024, he called off a planned India visit and went to China instead.
In February 2025, while advising US President Donald Trump, Musk met Modi in Washington. Within a month, Airtel and Jio had signed deals to sell Starlink kits, and Tesla had signed for its first Indian showroom.
Musk’s X has also sued the government over content regulation. The Centre has told states which signed agreements with Starlink to halt work until the company is licenced.
Rivals since 2024
Musk and Ambani have clashed over spectrum since 2024, when Jio pushed for an auction and Starlink for allotment. The government sided with Musk. That October, asked whether Ambani was afraid of him, Musk said he would call and ask “if it would not be too much trouble” to let Starlink compete.
Jio and Airtel together hold over 70 percent of India’s telecom market.
What’s pending
Starlink holds a telecom licence and space regulator approval, but still needs security clearance, spectrum and FDI approval. In June, Bloomberg reported that the Home Ministry had held back clearance after Starlink terminals were used in Iran. Starlink denied the report.
The Digital Communications Commission approved a spectrum charge of 5 percent of adjusted gross revenue on 3 September. It awaits Cabinet approval.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)