Elon Musk Accuses Ambani's Online Supporters Of "Absurd Hypocrisy", "Ridiculous Arguments"

Elon Musk on Sunday renewed his attack on Mukesh Ambani over Starlink's entry into India, accusing the billionaire's supporters of indulging in "absurd hypocrisy and hyperbole" in arguing simultaneously that his satellite internet service cannot compete with "amazing low prices offered by Ambani's de facto monopoly in India", even as they claimed - in the same breath - that it poses a strong competitive threat.

In a post on X, Musk said competition from Starlink would benefit ordinary Indians by expanding consumer choice, and that while it could lower Ambani's profits "he is not going out of business". Musk also said that if, indeed, Starlink's services were too expensive in India, consumers would not buy them, forcing the company to make its pricing affordable.

The "ridiculous arguments" by Ambani's internet supporters "make no sense", he said.

"On the one hand, they say Starlink 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! This is absurd hypocrisy and hyperbole," the US tech trillionaire said.

The reality is that competition would greatly benefit the average citizen in India by giving them more choices, as it always does, he argued.

"Ambani's profits will be lower, but he is not going out of business. And, obviously, if Starlink is too expensive in India, no one will buy it, so SpaceX will need to make pricing affordable," Musk further said.

Musk, this week, has repeatedly taken potshots at Ambani, whose company is a major player in India's telecom market and in the fray for satcom services.

READ | Musk Steps Up Attack On Ambani, Shares Reports On Alleged Reliance Links To BJP Campaigns, Donations

On Saturday, he shared screenshots of media reports that alleged a Reliance-funded firm helped boost BJP campaigns on social media and a Reliance-linked company made large political donations to the ruling party.

Musk's post on X featured an Al Jazeera report from 2022 headlined "How a Reliance-funded firm boosts BJP's campaigns on Facebook" and an archived Indian Express report from 2024 on Qwik Supply, which reported that the Reliance-linked firm donated Rs 385 crore to the BJP and Rs 25 crore to the Shiv Sena through electoral bonds.

The post comes amid Musk's scathing criticism of Ambani over the delay in the launch of Starlink satellite broadband services in India. Reliance has not publicly responded to Musk's allegations, while the government has maintained that the country's authorisation framework for telecom and satellite services is "fair and non-discriminatory" and that any suggestion that it was being applied selectively was "baseless and misconceived".

Earlier, Musk had put up a post on X sarcastically addressing industrialist Mukesh Ambani as "Prime Minister Ambani" and had accused him of seeking to protect a monopoly. Musk, in that post, had asked if Ambani would consider allowing his satellite internet service to compete in the country.

"Dear Prime Minister Ambani, Please accept my humble apologies for not realising that you are the real boss of India. Naturally, you would prefer to maintain your monopolistic exploitation of the great people of India, but would you nonetheless consider allowing Starlink to compete?" Musk wrote.

READ | "Dear Prime Minister Ambani": Elon Musk Doubles Down In Starlink Row

He also said that there are many areas of India, as there are in all countries, with no internet access, which denies children the opportunity for education and small businesses the opportunity to sell their goods to a global market.

Starlink would change their lives for the better, Musk said.

Within minutes of that post on late Friday evening, Musk penned another one, saying Starlink has proven to be essential for saving lives during natural disasters throughout the world, when all other communication systems have failed. "So you would also be helping save men, women and children throughout India," he added.

On Friday, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia asserted that India does not permit monopolies in any sector, and that despite the buzz around one particular company, three players -- including Starlink -- have received satcom licences and can start operations after individually meeting the security requirements and milestones.

READ | "India Doesn't Allow Monopoly In Any Sector": Minister On Musk's Claims

Scindia said India doesn't allow monopoly in any sector.

"Let me set the record straight. For us, the Department of Telecommunications, we are technology agnostic... Our job is to be able to provide the bouquet of services to every single customer. It is for the customer to choose in a free market which service he or she prefers, and within that service bouquet, which company's service he or she prefers," the Union minister said at a briefing at the India Mobile Congress here.

Scindia said that three entities -- Musk's Starlink, Reliance Jio's satellite venture Jio Satcom and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb – have already secured licences, while Amazon's Project Kuiper has expressed interest and will need to undergo the established procedure.

While there is a lot of conversation about one particular company, three have got satcom licences, he pointed out.

TRAI and the telecom department are close to a final decision on pricing regime for satcom spectrum, Scindia had informed.

Hitting out at the Congress in the backdrop of Rahul Gandhi and Musk's exchange on X, the minister had also said, "As far as the Congress is concerned... I don't think they themselves know whether they're going left or right". 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)