Musk's 'Ambani Boss of India' Jab Draws Gandhi Response as India Defends Starlink Delay
SPCX sits 54% above its 52-week low of $104.83.
Summary
Elon Musk escalated his public fight over Starlink's India entry, asking on X on October 8 whether Mukesh Ambani is the 'real boss of India' after five years of regulatory compliance without a license. Rahul Gandhi replied cryptically, 'Wait till you discover the other guy,' and Musk called the situation 'troubling.' India's telecom ministry rejected the allegations as 'baseless,' stating Starlink, Jio Satcom, and Eutelsat OneWeb are all at the same security-assessment stage and that clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs is the holdup. Starlink has awaited commercial clearance in India since 2022, and its commercial clearance is pending due to spectrum allocation, in addition to security checks. Starlink received a key licence from the Communications Ministry last year and also received authorisation from India’s space regulator, holding a Unified Licence with Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) authorisation. Department of Telecommunications records list Starlink, Jio, OneWeb as holding GMPCS authorisation. Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said Eutelsat OneWeb is awaiting approvals. Starlink faced scrutiny after devices recovered in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Manipur in 2024. Amazon Kuiper’s application remains under examination, per a January 2026 government response. This is the first time a senior Indian political figure has publicly engaged with Musk on the dispute, and the government's detailed rebuttal adds new context to the regulatory standoff. The exchange follows Musk's earlier claim that 'oligarchs' were blocking Starlink to protect a 'monopolistic chokehold.'
Updated with a Businessworld report · What changed
Updates
· Businessworld — India's telecom ministry said all three licensed satellite operators are at the same security-assessment stage and called discrimination claims baseless.
- Licensing — Starlink received a key licence from the Communications Ministry last year and authorisation from India's space regulator. It holds a Unified Licence with GMPCS authorisation, as do Jio and OneWeb.
- Clearance — Starlink has awaited commercial clearance in India since 2022. Clearance is pending due to spectrum allocation, in addition to security checks.
- Musk's Post — Elon Musk's X post regarding India's regulatory process was on October 8. He stated Starlink is licensed in more than 165 countries.
- Other Operators — Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said Eutelsat OneWeb is awaiting approvals. Amazon Kuiper's application remains under examination, per a January 2026 government response.
- Security Scrutiny — Starlink faced scrutiny after devices recovered in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Manipur in 2024.
All 11 details
- Starlink has awaited commercial clearance in India since 2022.
- Elon Musk's X post regarding India's regulatory process was on October 8.
- Musk stated Starlink is licensed in more than 165 countries.
- Starlink received a key licence from the Communications Ministry last year.
- Starlink also received authorisation from India’s space regulator.
- Starlink holds a Unified Licence with Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) authorisation.
- Department of Telecommunications records list Starlink, Jio, OneWeb as holding GMPCS authorisation.
- Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said Eutelsat OneWeb is awaiting approvals.
- Starlink faced scrutiny after devices recovered in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Manipur in 2024.
- Amazon Kuiper’s application remains under examination, per a January 2026 government response.
- Starlink's commercial clearance is pending due to spectrum allocation, in addition to security checks.
At the time of this announcement, SPCX was trading at $161.57 on NASDAQ in the Technology sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $2.2T. The 52-week trading range was $104.83 to $225.64. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: Mint.