11 October,2026 09:30 AM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Elon Musk. Pic/AFP
Elon Musk on Sunday renewed his criticism of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani's supporters over the delay in launching Starlink's satellite internet services in India, accusing them of making contradictory arguments about competition and pricing.
In a post on X, the SpaceX CEO argued that Starlink's entry would expand consumer choice and benefit Indians, even if it reduced the profits of existing telecom operators.
Musk criticised supporters of Ambani who, he said, argued that Starlink could not compete with Reliance Jio's low prices while also portraying it as a strong competitor.
"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! This is absurd hypocrisy and hyperbole," Musk said.
He added that greater competition would benefit ordinary consumers by giving them more choices.
"Ambani's profits will be lower, but he is not going out of business. And, obviously, if Starlink is too expensive in India, no one will buy it, so SpaceX will need to make pricing affordable," Musk said.
Musk's latest remarks follow several posts questioning the delay in Starlink's commercial launch in India. He has alleged that powerful business interests are attempting to protect their position in the country's telecommunications market. He has not provided publicly verified evidence establishing that Ambani or Reliance is responsible for the delay.
On Saturday, Musk shared reports concerning alleged links between Reliance-funded entities and political campaigning, as well as political donations by a Reliance-linked company. Reliance has not publicly responded to his allegations.
The government has denied that Starlink is being subjected to discriminatory treatment. Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said India does not permit monopolies and that three satellite communications operators have received licences.
These include Starlink, Reliance Jio's satellite venture Jio Satcom and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb. All three must meet individual security requirements and other regulatory conditions before beginning commercial operations. The government is also working towards finalising the satellite spectrum pricing framework.
Scindia said the government follows a technology-neutral approach and allows consumers to choose the services that best meet their needs.
"Let me set the record straight. For us, the Department of Telecommunications, we are technology agnostic... Our job is to be able to provide the bouquet of services to every single customer. It is for the customer to choose in a free market which service he or she prefers, and within that service bouquet, which company's service he or she prefers," the minister said at the India Mobile Congress.
