Starlink’s India campaign has been years in the making—and the latest delay has erupted into a public clash between Elon Musk, Mukesh Ambani and New Delhi.

SpaceX first tried to enter India in 2021, but refunded equipment preorders in early 2022 after authorities said it was booking or providing satellite service without the required licences. It later won key clearances, built local infrastructure and struck distribution agreements last year with Ambani’s Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. Yet commercial service still has not begun.¹

The companies had already fought over the rules of entry. Starlink wanted satellite spectrum assigned administratively; Jio argued for an auction. The government ultimately adopted the administrative route, handing SpaceX a policy win even as Jio and Airtel pursued satellite offerings of their own through SES and Eutelsat OneWeb, respectively.²

This week, Musk recast the remaining delay as a battle over market power. He accused unnamed “oligarchs” of preserving a “monopolistic chokehold,” then escalated his attack on Ambani with the X post: “Please accept my humble apologies for not realizing that you are the real boss of India.”Elon Musk (elonmusk)³ Musk has argued that Starlink could connect remote villages, expand educational access and keep communications working in disasters; in a separate post, he said the system had been “essential for saving lives” when other networks failed.Elon Musk (elonmusk)⁴

New Delhi’s response is far more procedural than Musk’s rhetoric. The Ministry of Communications says its satellite-communications framework is “fair and non-discriminatory,” and that Starlink and two other licensed operators are at “broadly the same regulatory stage.” All must complete security assessments before receiving spectrum, it said.¹

That leaves the central tension unresolved: Musk sees a protected telecom market; the government says a security gate applies equally to everyone. Reliance Jio did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while India’s telecom minister has said the country “does not allow a monopoly in any sector.”²