In a post on X, Musk said Starlink operates under licences in more than 165 countries and claimed the company had spent five years meeting India’s legal and regulatory requirements. He then directly questioned whether Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani was “the real boss of India.”
Musk’s remarks came shortly after the Indian government rejected his earlier claim that unnamed oligarchs were preventing Starlink from entering the market. The government described India’s regulatory framework as fair and non-discriminatory, calling suggestions of preferential treatment baseless.
Musk had previously alleged that powerful business interests were trying to protect their position in India’s telecom sector, without naming any company.
The dispute comes as India’s satellite communications market develops rapidly. Reliance Jio and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb are among the companies pursuing satellite connectivity services, adding further competition to the sector.