Musk Questions Starlink Delay, Takes On Mukesh Ambani

NEW DELHI-SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has questioned the delay in granting final clearances for Starlink to begin commercial operations in India, saying the satellite internet company has spent five years complying with the country’s laws and regulatory requirements.

In a post on X, Musk said Starlink was licensed in more than 165 countries and questioned why it was still waiting to launch in India. He had earlier accused unnamed “oligarchs” of blocking the company’s entry to protect their dominance in the country’s telecom market, without naming any company or individual.

India pushed back against the allegations, saying its regulatory framework for satellite communications was fair and non-discriminatory and that every licensee had to demonstrate compliance with security requirements before starting services.

Within hours of the government’s response, Musk asked on X: “Is Ambani the real boss of India?” The remark obviously referred to Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, whose Reliance Jio is a major player in India’s telecom market. The Modi government is known across India to be close to the Gujarati-origin Ambani. Musk in turn is known for flexing his influence too. 

The comments came amid a debate over whether Starlink could improve internet access in parts of India where conventional telecom infrastructure is difficult or expensive to build.

Starlink has secured a license to provide satellite communication services in India but is still awaiting security clearance and other regulatory steps before it can begin commercial operations. The government has said security assessments are under way for all three licensed satellite communications operators and that they are at broadly the same regulatory stage.

Earlier in the day, Minister of State for Communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani said the pending security clearance was with the Ministry of Home Affairs and was not specific to Starlink. The Department of Telecommunications had issued licenses and provisional spectrum to satellite communications companies, with the remaining security process still to be completed.

Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, whose group backs satellite operator Eutelsat OneWeb, also said his venture was waiting for regulatory approvals to begin operations.

Later in the day, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi joined the exchange with Musk on X, writing: “Welcome to India, Elon. Wait till you discover the other guy.”

Musk replied: “Thank you, Rahul. This is indeed troubling.” (IANS)