Elon Musk on Sunday renewed his criticism of Mukesh Ambani over Starlink's delayed entry into India, accusing the billionaire's supporters of indulging in "absurd hypocrisy and hyperbole" in the debate over satellite internet services.
In a post on X, Musk argued that two claims being made by Ambani's internet supporters could not both be true: that Starlink could not possibly compete with the low prices offered by what he called Ambani's de facto monopoly in India, and at the same time that Starlink posed a strong competitive threat.
Competition from Starlink would benefit ordinary Indians by expanding consumer choice, Musk said, adding that while it could reduce Ambani's profits, "he is not going out of business." If Starlink's services were too expensive in India, consumers would simply not buy them, forcing the company to make its pricing affordable, he said.
Escalating war of words
Musk has repeatedly targeted Ambani this week. On Saturday he shared screenshots of media reports that alleged a Reliance-funded firm helped boost political campaigns on social media and that a Reliance-linked company had made large political donations. Earlier, he had addressed Ambani sarcastically as "Prime Minister Ambani" and accused him of seeking to protect a monopoly, asking whether he would allow Starlink to compete. Reliance has not publicly responded to the allegations.
The government has maintained that the country's authorisation framework for telecom and satellite services is "fair and non-discriminatory" and that any suggestion of selective application was "baseless and misconceived."
Scindia: India does not permit monopolies
Speaking at the India Mobile Congress on Friday, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia asserted that India does not permit monopolies in any sector. He said three players — Musk's Starlink, Reliance Jio's satellite venture Jio Satcom and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb — have received satcom licences and can start operations after meeting security requirements and milestones, while Amazon's Project Kuiper has expressed interest and will need to go through the established procedure. He added that TRAI and the telecom department were close to a final decision on the pricing regime for satcom spectrum.
Sources:
Elon Musk accuses Ambani supporters of 'hypocrisy' over Starlink's India entry
In a post on X, Musk argued that two claims being made by Ambani's internet supporters could not both be true: that Starlink could not possibly compete with the low prices offered by what he called Ambani's de facto monopoly in India, and at the same time that Starlink posed a strong competitive threat.
Competition from Starlink would benefit ordinary Indians by expanding consumer choice, Musk said, adding that while it could reduce Ambani's profits, "he is not going out of business." If Starlink's services were too expensive in India, consumers would simply not buy them, forcing the company to make its pricing affordable, he said.
Escalating war of words
Musk has repeatedly targeted Ambani this week. On Saturday he shared screenshots of media reports that alleged a Reliance-funded firm helped boost political campaigns on social media and that a Reliance-linked company had made large political donations. Earlier, he had addressed Ambani sarcastically as "Prime Minister Ambani" and accused him of seeking to protect a monopoly, asking whether he would allow Starlink to compete. Reliance has not publicly responded to the allegations.
The government has maintained that the country's authorisation framework for telecom and satellite services is "fair and non-discriminatory" and that any suggestion of selective application was "baseless and misconceived."
Scindia: India does not permit monopolies
Speaking at the India Mobile Congress on Friday, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia asserted that India does not permit monopolies in any sector. He said three players — Musk's Starlink, Reliance Jio's satellite venture Jio Satcom and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb — have received satcom licences and can start operations after meeting security requirements and milestones, while Amazon's Project Kuiper has expressed interest and will need to go through the established procedure. He added that TRAI and the telecom department were close to a final decision on the pricing regime for satcom spectrum.
Sources:
Elon Musk accuses Ambani supporters of 'hypocrisy' over Starlink's India entry