Billionaire Elon Musk doubled down on his push to launch Starlink’s satellite internet services in India, asserting that “competition would greatly benefit the average citizen”.
In the latest tweet amid his very public dispute with , the SpaceX and Tesla CEO pointed out the “absurd hypocrisy” over “de facto monopoly”.
Calling out the ‘army of internet shills’
In a detailed tweet, tech founder Aaron Burnett wrote: “Something feels off with this chorus of ‘India’s internet is great and super cheap’ … the data shows that the Indian market is absolutely dominated by mobile. When they say it’s cheap and well connected factually this only applies to mobile usage. This makes sense because a tower…”
Responding directly to Burnett’s post on Sunday, Musk said, “The ridiculous arguments by Ambani’s army of Internet shills make no sense.”
“On the one hand, they say couldn’t possibly compete with the amazing low prices offered by Ambani’s de facto monopoly in India and then, in the same breath, they essentially claim that Starlink would be too strong of a competitor!” Musk wrote, highlighting the contradictions. He dismissed these arguments as “absurd hypocrisy and hyperbole.”
Addressing concerns that Starlink might disrupt local telecom giants, Musk said, “The reality is that competition would greatly benefit the average citizen in India by giving them more choices, as it always does.”
He bluntly added, “Ambani’s profits will be lower, but he is not going out of business.”
Previous ‘monopoly’ allegations
This latest post continues a fierce war of words that began earlier in the week.
On October 9, made headlines with a sarcastic post aimed directly at the Reliance head. “Dear Prime Minister Ambani, Please accept my humble apologies for not realising that you are the real boss of India,” Musk wrote.
In that earlier post, he accused Ambani of engaging in “monopolistic exploitation of the great people of India” and urged him to allow Starlink to compete.
Musk argued that vast swathes of India still lack reliable internet connectivity, and satellite broadband like Starlink could bridge that gap. This, he noted, would provide children in underserved areas with critical educational opportunities and enable small businesses to access global markets.
Regulatory battleground
The backdrop to this escalating feud is the ongoing debate over how India will allocate for satellite communication services. While traditional Indian telecom players advocate for auctioning the spectrum to ensure a level playing field, foreign entities like Starlink favour administrative allocation.
Addressing the controversy and allegations of favouritism, Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia recently clarified the government’s stance, stating that India does not allow a monopoly in any sector.
Scindia noted that the Department of Telecommunications is “technology agnostic” and pointed out that licenses have been granted to multiple players, including Jio, OneWeb, and Starlink.