India
Musk shares Reliance-linked donation reports in Starlink dispute
The posts widen a market fight into questions about political influence
The posts widen a market fight into questions about political influence
’s planned India launch has sparked a public fight between Elon Musk and Mukesh Ambani over access to the country’s market. has key approvals but still needs final and before it can start selling service. Reliance and Airtel oppose giving spectrum without auctions, but the government chose to assign it directly. That choice could affect competition, prices, and internet access in remote areas.
Musk says Ambani is protecting a monopoly. He has publicised reports that a Reliance-linked company gave large donations to the and Shiv Sena through . The donations are documented, but the reports do not show that they influenced ’s approvals. The government says all companies are treated equally. is still unavailable to customers, and Reliance has not publicly responded.
The latest reported status is that Starlink has not commercially launched in India. The company says it has built 20 and is awaiting remaining security clearances and spectrum allocation, while Reliance has not publicly responded and the government and BJP have rejected or not endorsed the political-influence allegation.
Musk sarcastically referred to Ambani as “Prime Minister Ambani” and shared reports alleging Reliance-linked involvement in BJP campaign activity. He also circulated reporting about ’s electoral-bond donations, but the existence of documented contributions does not establish that they influenced Starlink’s regulatory treatment.
Elon Musk publicly criticised Mukesh Ambani during the dispute over Starlink’s delayed Indian launch. Musk alleged that Reliance was seeking to preserve a , while Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said India does not permit monopolies and that three could proceed after meeting the required conditions.
The Communications Ministry said Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications were broadly at the same approval stage. All three still required and , and the ministry described the as fair and .
The approved a proposed of 5 percent of , with a 4 percent rate for rural and remote areas. The government retained administrative allocation, a model supported by Starlink but opposed by Reliance and Airtel, which sought auctions.
India moved toward of spectrum for satellite communications under the , rather than auctions. Spectrum allocation is required before licensed operators can provide commercial broadband, while security reviews address network, data and national-security conditions.
India’s space regulator, , authorised Starlink’s first-generation constellation on 2025-07-08. The approval covered Starlink’s , but it did not by itself provide spectrum or complete the remaining security conditions needed for launch.
The Department of Telecommunications granted Starlink a authorisation in June 2025. The licence placed it alongside Reliance-backed Jio Satellite Communications and Bharti-backed as an authorised satellite-service operator.
India’s Department of Telecommunications issued Starlink a in May 2025. The company still needed to complete security, licensing and before commercial operations could begin.
Election Commission data reported that Reliance-linked bought Rs 410 crore in . Reports said Rs 385 crore went to the BJP and Rs 25 crore to the Shiv Sena, although one later report gave the BJP figure as Rs 395 crore.