Musk turns the row on Ambani

On Wednesday, Elon Musk wrote on X that SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service was being held back in India by unnamed business interests. He added "You can guess who they are," and the remark was widely understood in India to refer to Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Mittal. Ambani's Jio and Mittal's Airtel control nearly 80% of India's broadband market, which the reporting describes as a virtual duopoly. The statement itself read:

“Starlink is being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people”

Ministry rejects the allegations

On Thursday Musk named Ambani directly in a separate post, asking whether "Is Ambani the real boss of India?" The same day India's Ministry of Communications rejected the allegations, saying the country's regulatory framework for satellite communications is "fair and non-discriminatory". The ministry said Starlink and two other licensed satellite operators, Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications, must complete security assessments before they can receive satellite spectrum. It said all three are at "broadly the same regulatory stage", rejecting Musk's suggestion that Starlink was being singled out. Starlink has not yet received the go-ahead from New Delhi to begin commercial operations, despite securing key regulatory clearances.

Friday escalation

On Friday Musk went further, mocking Ambani as the country's "prime minister" in a post on X that came hours after Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said India does not permit monopolies in any sector. Scindia also said three companies have received satellite communications licences, and that they can start services after meeting security requirements and set standards. In his post Musk wrote:

“Naturally, you would prefer to maintain your monopolistic exploitation of the great people of India, but would you nonetheless consider allowing Starlink to compete?”

He argued that Starlink could bring internet access to areas that remain unconnected, giving children more opportunities to learn and helping small businesses reach customers worldwide. Reliance Jio did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Reliance had not publicly responded to Musk's latest posts.

Reliance-linked donations

On Saturday Musk shared two reports on X that link Reliance to funding for Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The first was a 2022 Al Jazeera investigation titled "How a Reliance-funded firm boosts BJP's campaigns on Facebook", which said a news start-up funded by Reliance had run political advertisements promoting the BJP on Facebook and Instagram. The second was a 2024 Indian Express report that Qwik Supply, a company linked to Reliance, had donated £30m to the BJP and £2m to its regional ally Shiv Sena through electoral bonds. The Supreme Court struck the bond scheme down as unconstitutional in 2024, after which the election commission published data showing Qwik Supply bought £32m of bonds between 2021-22 and 2023-24, making it the third-largest buyer. A Reliance spokesperson told PTI in March 2024 that Qwik Supply "wasn't a subsidiary of any Reliance entity", but Reuters reported that company filings showed three Reliance firms together held a 50.04% stake.

Bonds bought, 2021-22 to 2023-2432

Donated to BJP (2024 Indian Express report)30

Donated to Shiv Sena (2024 Indian Express report)2

Bonds bought, 2021-22 to 2023-24

32 £m

Donated to BJP (2024 Indian Express report)

30 £m

Donated to Shiv Sena (2024 Indian Express report)

2 £m

Data from the article text

Partnerships and the wider market

Starlink signed distribution agreements with Jio and Airtel in March 2025, subject to government approval, and the companies said they would explore sharing network infrastructure. Jio has a joint venture with Luxembourg-based SES, while Airtel is a major shareholder in Eutelsat OneWeb, and both are preparing to launch their own satellite internet services in India. Musk wrote that Starlink is licensed in over 165 countries and has spent five years complying with the requirements of the Indian government. India, the most populous country in the world with over a billion internet users, is a key market for Musk. Ambani and Reliance had not responded to Musk's comments in the reporting available so far.