Musk vows affordable Starlink in India days before Ambani’s record Jio IPO

Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox

Elon Musk has previously accused India of stalling Starlink’s entrance into the country’s market.

PHOTO: REUTERS

• Musk said Starlink will be priced affordably in India to challenge Reliance Jio, as Jio’s parent prepares for India’s biggest-ever IPO.
• He said competition would help Indian users, while Ambani’s profits would fall. He did not give prices, but noted India’s data costs are already very low.
• Musk accused Modi’s government and Ambani of delaying Starlink’s entry. India denied bias, saying Starlink and Jio satellite ventures still await final security clearance.

AI generated

BENGALURU, India – Elon Musk said he would price Starlink’s satellite internet service affordably in India to take on Mukesh Ambani’s low-cost Reliance Jio, escalating his attacks on the rival billionaire days before Jio’s parent launches India’s largest-ever initial public offering.

Jio Platforms, which owns the telecom arm, is targeting a valuation of US$106 billion (S$135.62 billion) in the offering.

Much like SpaceX-owned Starlink, Jio’s own satellite venture is also awaiting final security clearance to launch.

Cheap data is the playbook that built Jio in India, and the one Musk has used in markets like Kenya to unsettle local telecom players.

SpaceX now plans to enter the mobile carrier market itself, starting in the US.

Musk did not specify prices for India, where mobile data costs about eight cents per gigabyte, among the lowest in the world.

“Obviously, if Starlink is too expensive in India, no one will buy it, so SpaceX will need to make pricing affordable,” he said in a post on his social media platform X on Oct 10.

“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 added.

‘Prime Minister Ambani’

The billionaire’s remarks were the latest in a series of X posts where he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and Ambani of stalling Starlink’s entry into one of the world’s biggest internet markets to favour market leader Jio.

The posts have marked a sharp turn for Musk, who has long enjoyed a warm public rapport with Modi.

India’s government has denied any bias in its approval process, noting that the three satellite ventures seeking to launch, including Starlink’s and Jio’s, are all awaiting final security clearance.

Late on Oct 9, Musk taunted Ambani directly, addressing him as “Prime Minister Ambani” and asking whether he would “consider allowing Starlink to compete”.

Reliance has not responded to requests for comment on Musk’s remarks. REUTERS