Elon Musk accuses Ambani supporters of ‘absurd hypocrisy’ over Starlink’s delayed India launch

Elon Musk on Sunday renewed his criticism of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambanis supporters over the delay in launching Starlinks satellite internet services in India accusing them of making contradictory arguments about competition and pricingIn a post on X the SpaceX CEO argued that Starlinks entry would expand consumer choice and benefit Indians even if it reduced the profits of existing telecom operatorsMusk questions arguments against StarlinkMusk criticised supporters of Ambani who he said argued that Starlink could not compete with Reliance Jios low prices while also portraying it as a strong competitorOn the one hand they say Starlink couldnt possibly compete with the amazing low prices offered by Ambanis 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 saidThe ridiculous arguments by Ambanirsquos army of Internet shills make no sense On the one hand they say Starlink couldnrsquot possibly compete with the amazing low prices offered by Ambanirsquos 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 The reality is that competition would greatly benefit the average citizen in India by giving them more choices as it always does Ambanirsquos 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 affordablemdash Elon Musk elonmusk October 10 2026He added that greater competition would benefit ordinary consumers by giving them more choicesAmbanis 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 saidStarlink entry row escalatesMusks latest remarks follow several posts questioning the delay in Starlinks commercial launch in India He has alleged that powerful business interests are attempting to protect their position in the countrys telecommunications market He has not provided publicly verified evidence establishing that Ambani or Reliance is responsible for the delayOn Saturday Musk shared reports concerning alleged links between Reliancefunded entities and political campaigning as well as political donations by a Reliancelinked company Reliance has not publicly responded to his allegationsGovernment rejects claims of preferential treatmentThe 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 licencesThese include Starlink Reliance Jios satellite venture Jio Satcom and Bhartibacked 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 frameworkStarlink awaits regulatory clearancesScindia said the government follows a technologyneutral approach and allows consumers to choose the services that best meet their needsLet 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 companys service he or she prefers the minister said at the India Mobile Congress