Musk Offers Sarcastic Apology to 'Prime Minister Ambani' as Starlink Row Escalates

A Late-Night Post Aimed at Ambani

Elon Musk escalated his public fight with Mukesh Ambani in a late-night post on X, addressing the Reliance chairman as "Prime Minister Ambani" and apologising, with heavy sarcasm, for not realising he was the real boss of India. Musk said Ambani would naturally prefer to keep what he called monopolistic exploitation of Indians, then asked whether he would nonetheless let Starlink compete.

He argued that satellite internet could change lives in areas with no connectivity, giving children access to education and small businesses a route to global customers. He also said Starlink has proved essential for saving lives in natural disasters when other networks fail. The Times of India called it his sharpest attack yet. Musk has offered no evidence that Ambani is behind the delay, and Reliance Jio has not responded to requests for comment.

Three Days, Three Escalations

The post capped a three-day build-up. On Wednesday, Musk wrote that certain oligarchs were blocking Starlink to preserve a monopolistic chokehold on Indian consumers, adding that readers could guess who they were. On Thursday he named Ambani, asking whether he was the real boss of India and saying Starlink had spent five years complying with every Indian requirement. Officials say the launch hinges on security clearance and spectrum assignment.

Govt rejects Musk’s Bias Claims

The government rejected the allegations. The Communications Ministry said on Thursday that its satellite framework was fair, calling any suggestion of discrimination baseless and misconceived. It said Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications were at broadly the same stage, each awaiting security clearances and spectrum allocation.

Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said India does not allow a monopoly in any sector. According to the Times of India, he told the India Mobile Congress that spectrum will be assigned once the government settles a revenue-based charging system, and that each licensee can begin only after meeting security conditions. He said a final decision on satellite spectrum pricing is close and noted that Amazon's Project Kuiper is also eyeing a licence. Akash Ambani, who chairs Jio Infocomm, declined to comment on Musk's claims when asked on Wednesday.

Politics and the Bigger Picture

The row has also drawn in the opposition. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who has long accused the government of favouring a few business houses, replied to Musk with a veiled reference to Gautam Adani. Musk called the exchange troubling, and Scindia responded by saying he doubted Congress knew whether it was going left or right. Behind the sparring is a long-running dispute.

Starlink received its telecom licence in 2025, but still needs security compliance and spectrum. It and Reliance previously clashed over whether satellite spectrum should be allocated or auctioned, and the government sided with allocation. Both Jio and Airtel signed distribution deals with SpaceX in 2025, even as Jio reportedly plans its own constellation of about 1,600 low-orbit satellites.

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