Musk steps up Starlink push in India, says ‘competition would benefit average citizen’

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Sunday renewed his push for Starlink to begin commercial operations in India, arguing that greater competition would give consumers more options. He also targeted Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani, accusing his supporters of engaging in "absurd hypocrisy and hyperbole".Elon Musk has repeatedly taken aim at Ambani this week. (Getty Images via AFP)Musk has repeatedly taken aim at Ambani this week. Reliance is a major player in India's telecom sector.Musk targets Ambani amid Starlink bid in IndiaIn a post on X, he argued that Starlink's entry into India would benefit ordinary consumers by giving them more choices. He said the move might reduce Ambani's profits but would not threaten his business.Musk added that if Starlink's services were too expensive for Indian consumers, they would not subscribe, forcing the company to offer more affordable prices.He dismissed the "ridiculous arguments" made by supporters of Ambani's internet business, calling them contradictory."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," he said.He added, “The reality is that competition would greatly benefit the average citizen in India by giving them more choices, as it always does. 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 amps up pressure on AmbaniOn Saturday, Musk shared screenshots of media reports alleging that a Reliance-funded firm helped promote BJP campaigns on social media and that a Reliance-linked company made large political donations to the ruling party.His post featured a 2022 Al Jazeera report titled "How a Reliance-funded firm boosts BJP's campaigns on Facebook". It also included an archived 2024 report by The Indian Express on Qwik Supply, which said the Reliance-linked firm donated ₹385 crore to the BJP and ₹25 crore to the Shiv Sena through electoral bonds.The latest post comes amid Musk's criticism of Ambani over delays in launching Starlink's satellite broadband services in India. Reliance has not publicly responded to the allegations.Earlier, Musk had sarcastically referred to Ambani as "Prime Minister Ambani" in a post on X and accused him of trying to protect a monopoly. He also questioned whether Ambani would allow Starlink to compete in India's satellite internet market.India responds to Musk's allegationsOn Thursday, the Centre rejected Musk's claim that Starlink was being “blocked by certain oligarchs” in India. It maintained that the country's regulatory framework for satellite communication services was “fair and non-discriminatory”.In a statement, the ministry of communications dismissed allegations that the rules or their implementation favoured certain companies, calling them “baseless and misconceived”.“A post is being circulated in social media regarding the fairness of India’s regulatory framework for satellite communication services and suggesting that it is being applied in a discriminatory manner. The Government has put in place a fair and non-discriminatory authorisation framework for all telecommunication services, including satellite communication services,” the ministry said."...the suggestion that the framework or its application is unfair or discriminatory is baseless and misconceived,” it added.