“Prime Minister Ambani”: Elon Musk Attacks Reliance Boss Over Starlink’s India Clearance

10 Oct 2026, 09:53 by Vinay Kakkad · KalingaTV

The battle over who gets to provide satellite internet in India just got personal.

Elon Musk has directly attacked Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani, accusing him of monopolistic control and blocking Starlink’s commercial rollout in the country. Posting from Austin, Texas, on Friday, October 9, 2026, the SpaceX boss took aim in a sharp public message on X:

“Dear Prime Minister Ambani, Please accept my humble apologies for not realizing that you are the real boss of India. Naturally, you would prefer to maintain your monopolistic exploitation of the great people of India, but would you nonetheless consider allowing Starlink to compete? There are many areas of India, as there are in all countries, with no Internet access, which denies children the opportunity for education and for small businesses the opportunity to sell their goods to a global market. Starlink would change their lives for the better. Thank you.”

Musk further pointed out that Starlink has repeatedly proved vital during natural disasters globally when ground networks fail, arguing that having the service up and running would save lives across India.

The outburst comes after years of regulatory delays. Musk previously claimed that powerful corporate players were deliberately stalling Starlink, despite the company spending five years working to clear domestic compliance rules.

The Indian government, however, quickly dismissed any claims of unfair play or corporate favoritism.

As reported by ANI, Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia stated firmly that India does not permit a monopoly in any sector. He clarified that the field remains open, pointing out that three companies—Reliance Jio, Bharti-backed OneWeb, and Starlink—have already secured licenses, with Amazon actively working through the pipeline to obtain one too.

Scindia also broke down where things actually stand. While the government has already agreed on administrative spectrum allocation rather than an open auction, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) are close to finalizing the pricing rules and revenue charges.

More importantly, commercial rollout hinges on strict national security compliance. Scindia emphasized that commercial clearance will only be granted once each operator individually clears mandatory security checks.

Backing the minister’s stance, the Ministry of Communications reiterated that Starlink, Jio, and OneWeb are all on the exact same regulatory footing. Security assessments are actively underway for all three, and each will be cleared for spectrum assignment only after those requirements are fully met.