NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries has hit back at Elon Musk over his allegations that Mukesh Ambani is blocking the India launch of Starlink, declaring that it has "never feared competition" — but insisting that every operator, foreign or domestic, must comply with Indian laws.
In a statement posted on X on Friday, the Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate welcomed competition in satellite communications, including from Musk's Starlink, while firmly defending India's regulatory framework. The statement did not name Musk, saying only that it was placing facts on record "in light of recent remarks about Reliance and the Indian market."
"At Reliance, we have never feared competition. We see it as the truest test of who serves the customer best," the company said.
The flashpoint is Starlink's delayed commercial launch in India. Musk has repeatedly accused powerful business interests of obstructing competition. On October 8, he accused "certain oligarchs" in India of blocking Starlink's entry to protect what he called their "monopolistic chokehold" over the industry — without naming anyone at the time.
He subsequently singled out Ambani directly. His posts on X have ranged from asking whether Ambani was the "real boss" of India to calling him "Prime Minister Ambani" and questioning whether he would allow Starlink to compete in the country.
Reliance's response sought to dismantle the charge point by point. On regulation, it cited the government's position: "As the Government of India has stated, it applies the same process to every applicant, Indian or foreign. Jio's own satellite services await clearances."
That is the crux of the company's argument — that there is no special obstacle placed in Starlink's path. India has granted licences to Starlink, Jio's satellite internet arm and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb to operate satellite communication services, but none of them has yet secured the necessary security clearance to begin commercial operations.
Security assessments and spectrum assignment remain prerequisites, keeping Starlink and its domestic rivals alike out of India's satellite broadband market for now.
"We welcome competition in satellite communications, including Starlink. Every player, Jio included, must serve the people of India and abide by the laws and policies of the land," the statement added.
Reliance also reached for its own history to rebut the monopoly charge. Jio, it recalled, entered India's "crowded" telecommunications market in 2016 as the newest player "with not a single customer," and in just ten years has earned the trust of over 530 million customers, giving Indians "some of the best digital infrastructure and most affordable data in the world."
The company framed India's openness to investment as conditional on the rule of law: "Like every Indian enterprise, Reliance has grown in an India that welcomes investment and innovation, homegrown or international, that improve the lives of the people. That openness rests on the rule of law."
The Union government has separately defended the regulatory framework, describing it as "fair and non-discriminatory." The Ministry of Communications issued a statement — without specifically naming Musk or Starlink — referring to a widely shared social media post, underscoring that the same procedures apply to all applicants.
The stakes in the standoff are considerable. Starlink, operated by Musk's SpaceX, provides internet access through a constellation of satellites in low-earth orbit. If launched in India, it would compete directly with Jio Space Technology — a joint venture within the Reliance fold — and with Eutelsat OneWeb, backed by Sunil Mittal's Bharti Airtel group.
Satellite broadband is seen as a potential game-changer for connectivity in India, capable of reaching hundreds of millions of people who remain offline, particularly in rural and remote areas where terrestrial networks are thin.
Musk has said he would price Starlink affordably in India to compete with Jio's famously low-cost data plans — a strategy he has pursued in other markets such as Kenya, where he moved aggressively to challenge established telecom operators. Affordable data has been central to Jio's own rise, and the prospect of a price war in satellite broadband is one reason the industry is watching the regulatory logjam so closely.
The public confrontation marks a sharp turn for Musk, who has maintained a warm public rapport with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has spoken enthusiastically about Tesla's and Starlink's prospects in India. It also comes at a delicate moment, as New Delhi seeks foreign investment and negotiates a trade deal with Washington — a backdrop that makes the spat between two of the world's most prominent billionaires more than a corporate squabble.
The row also spotlights how central satellite communications have become to India's digital ambitions. With terrestrial networks already carrying some of the world's cheapest mobile data — a revolution Jio itself pioneered — the next frontier is the country's vast hinterland, where laying fibre remains economically unviable.
Policymakers see satellite broadband as the most practical way to close that gap, which is why the licensing queue includes not just Starlink and Jio but also Eutelsat OneWeb, the Bharti-backed venture that has been building its own constellation.
For consumers, the eventual contest could reshape pricing. Musk has explicitly positioned affordability as his weapon, mirroring Jio's own playbook from 2016, when free voice calls and rock-bottom data tariffs upended the entire telecom industry. If Starlink enters at aggressive price points, Jio Space Technology and OneWeb would face their first real test in a market where the incumbent has historically set the terms.
For now, the impasse is regulatory rather than commercial. Until security clearances land, neither Starlink nor its Indian rivals can switch on their services — a fact Reliance was keen to underline. Whether Musk's pressure campaign accelerates those clearances, or hardens New Delhi's insistence on process, will determine how quickly India's satellite internet race truly begins.
What is clear is that neither side is backing down rhetorically. Musk's decision to personalise the dispute — from the "oligarchs" broadside to the "Prime Minister Ambani" jibes — has ensured the row stays in global headlines, while Reliance's measured, process-focused rebuttal is designed to keep the contest on regulatory terrain where it holds the home advantage.
For India's policymakers, the challenge will be to clear the security and spectrum hurdles without appearing to favour any camp — domestic or foreign — in a race the whole world is watching.
(Reporting based on The Statesman, The Times of India and Scroll.)