Musk calls Ambani "Prime Minister Ambani" on X over Starlink approval delay

The dispute between Elon Musk, the world's richest businessman, and Mukesh Ambani, one of India's leading industrialists, is growing by the day. In a new post on X, Musk referred to Ambani directly as "Prime Minister Ambani" and criticised him, raising the question of whether the row will escalate further.

Musk's remark comes over the delay in launching the satellite internet service of his company Starlink in India. He has alleged directly that Ambani wants to retain his monopoly and that, as a result, Starlink is not getting a chance to compete in India.

Musk posted on his social media platform X on October 9, 2026. In it he wrote, "Dear Prime Minister Ambani." He went on to say sarcastically that he humbly apologised for not realising that Ambani was the real boss of India. It is obvious that Ambani would like to continue the exploitation of the people of India through monopoly, he said, but asked whether Ambani would still consider letting Starlink compete.

Musk said in the post that, as in all countries, many parts of India have no internet access. Because of this, children do not get educational opportunities and small businesses cannot sell their goods in the global market. Starlink would change their lives for the better, he said.

The dispute has arisen from the delay in Starlink's entry into India. Starlink, the satellite internet service of Musk's company SpaceX, has been preparing to start business in India for a long time. The company has received the required licences, but some more approvals are still pending before commercial service can begin. The company is making efforts to obtain them, but for some reasons these processes keep getting held up.

According to Musk, Starlink operates with licences in more than 165 countries and has been trying for nearly five years to comply with Indian regulations. Even so, the delay in getting permission to start service is a major problem. Musk has alleged earlier too that some large business groups are placing obstacles in Starlink's entry into India to protect their dominance of the market. However, he has not so far presented any public evidence in support of his allegations.

Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio is a major name in the Indian telecom market. Jio's satellite internet company, Jio SatCom, is also preparing to enter this sector. Eutelsat OneWeb, backed by the Bharti Group, is also in the same field. In other words, it is not only Starlink; other companies too are preparing to launch satellite internet services in India. Starlink's entry could increase competition in this market.

Following Musk's allegations, the Government of India clarified that monopoly is not being encouraged in any sector in the country. Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that three companies have received licences for satellite communication, including Starlink, Jio SatCom and Eutelsat OneWeb. Receiving licences does not mean the companies can immediately serve customers. For commercial operations they will have to meet security requirements. In addition, spectrum allocation and related arrangements are still pending.

According to the government, security-related scrutiny is under way for all three licence holders. It has therefore rejected the allegations that it deliberately targeted or discriminated against Starlink.