Musk’s sharp criticism of Ambani comes after persistent delays in launch of Starlink services in India
Elon Musk on Saturday intensified his criticism of industrialist Mukesh Ambani by sharing screenshots of media reports alleging that a Reliance-funded firm helped boost BJP campaigns on social media and that a Reliance-linked company made substantial political donations to the ruling party.
Musk’s post on X featured a 2022 Al Jazeera report headlined “How a Reliance-funded firm boosts BJP’s campaigns on Facebook”, along with an archived 2024 report by The Indian Express on Qwik Supply. The latter reported that the Reliance-linked firm donated ₹385 crore to the BJP and ₹25 crore to the Shiv Sena through electoral bonds.
The post came amid Musk’s sharp criticism of Ambani over persistent delays in the launch of Starlink satellite broadband services in India.
A few hours before he made the post, Musk addressed Ambani as “Prime Minister Ambani” and urged him to allow Starlink to compete in India.
“Please accept my humble apologies for not realising that you are the real boss of India,” Musk wrote, accusing Ambani of seeking to maintain his market dominance.
Read: SpaceX strikes spectrum deal, paving way for Starlink to become major US mobile carrier
“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 added.
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…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 9, 2026
“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,” he added.
India rejects monopoly claim after Musk accuses Ambani of blocking Starlink launch
India’s telecom minister on Friday said the country does not allow monopolies in any sector, pushing back after Musk suggested billionaire Ambani was using political influence to block Starlink’s launch in the country.
“India does not allow a monopoly in any sector,” telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said at a media briefing on Friday, addressing Musk’s remarks.
Musk’s SpaceX unit is seeking entry into a telecom market with more than a billion internet users, currently dominated by the mobile networks of Ambani’s Reliance Jio and Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Airtel.
“Is Ambani the real boss of India?” Musk wrote on X on Thursday, questioning why Starlink still lacked a licence despite what he said were years of compliance with Indian requirements. He provided no evidence against Ambani.
Starlink is licensed in over 165 countries and has spent five years complying with every single law and requirement of the government of India, so why still no license?
Is Ambani the real boss of India? https://t.co/KUSgfJRynZ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 8, 2026
Ambani’s Reliance Jio did not respond to a request for comment on Musk’s remarks.
A four-year wait to launch Starlink’s satellite internet services in India has sparked heated exchanges online over business influence and regulatory delays, with Musk targeting Ambani and the political opposition joining the row.
While Starlink has already secured a licence to operate in India, a commercial launch still requires it to meet security compliance conditions and receive a spectrum assignment.
The government said on Thursday that all three licensed satellite operators, including Starlink, were at broadly the same regulatory stage, calling suggestions of an unfair or discriminatory process “baseless and misconceived”.
