'Is Ambani the 'real boss of India'?' Musk demands as Starlink battles billionaire's telecom monopoly

From the Newshound archive · first published 9 October 2026.

Elon Musk has openly taken aim at Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, asking whether he — rather than Prime Minister Narendra Modi — holds the real power in India, after Starlink spent five years trying to secure regulatory approval to operate there. Musk alleged that unnamed "oligarchs" were using a "monopolistic chokehold" on Indian consumers to keep Starlink out, before singling out Ambani, whose Reliance Jio commands the largest share of India's mobile market. India's Ministry of Communications dismissed the claims as "baseless and misconceived." Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi cheekily advised Musk to "wait till you meet the other one," an apparent dig at rival billionaire Gautam Adani.

Starlink holds licences in more than 165 countries yet remains without security clearance or spectrum allocation in India.

Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel together account for over 80% of India's broadband subscribers — a base of nearly 910 million people.

In an ironic turn, both Jio and Airtel struck distribution agreements with SpaceX for Starlink equipment in March 2025, leaving Ambani as Musk's rival and partner at the same time.