Elon Musk Pledges Affordable Starlink Pricing in India, Escalating Rivalry With Mukesh Ambani

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has announced plans to offer his Starlink satellite internet service at competitive prices in India to challenge Mukesh Ambani’s low-cost Reliance Jio. This move intensifies the ongoing feud between the two tycoons just days before Jio's parent company prepares to launch the nation's largest-ever initial public offering (IPO).

Jio Platforms, the owner of the telecom division, is aiming for a massive valuation of $106bn in the upcoming offering. Like SpaceX-owned Starlink, Jio’s satellite venture is currently awaiting final security clearance from regulators before it can launch operations.

While Musk did not disclose specific pricing for India—where mobile data rates remain among the lowest globally at approximately rupees 7.74 ($0.08) per gigabyte—he emphasized the need for affordability. "Obviously, if Starlink is too expensive in India, no one will buy it, so SpaceX will need to make pricing affordable," Musk stated in a post on his social media platform X.

He further added, "The reality is that competition would greatly benefit the average citizen in India by giving them more choices, as it always does. Ambani’s profits will be lower, but he is not going out of business."

Musk's recent statements follow a string of social media posts where he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and Ambani of intentionally delaying Starlink’s market entry to protect market leader Jio. India’s government has firmly denied any bias, explaining that all three competing satellite ventures, including those of Starlink and Jio, are pending final security clearance.

Continuing his critique, Musk directly taunted Ambani on Friday, referring to him sarcastically as “Prime Minister Ambani” and questioning whether he would permit fair competition. Reliance has not yet issued a response to Musk’s remarks.