Businessman Elon Musk said he would set affordable prices for Starlink satellite internet services in India to compete with the cheap Reliance Jio service owned by Mukesh Ambani. This intensified his criticism of the billionaire rival just days before Jio's parent company plans to conduct the largest initial public offering (IPO) in India's history, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
Jio Platforms, which owns the telecommunications division, is seeking a valuation of $106 billion as part of the share offering. Like Starlink (owned by SpaceX), Jio's own satellite communications project is also awaiting final security approval to begin operations.
The strategy of providing cheap mobile internet helped Jio succeed in India; Musk used the same approach in markets such as Kenya to undermine the position of local telecommunications operators. Now SpaceX plans to enter the mobile operator market itself, starting in the United States.
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Musk did not name specific prices for India, where mobile internet costs about 8 cents per gigabyte, one of the lowest rates in the world.
"Obviously, if Starlink services in India are too expensive, no one will buy them, so SpaceX will have to make the prices affordable," he wrote on his X platform on Saturday.
"In fact, competition will benefit ordinary Indian citizens by giving them more choice, as it always does. Ambani's profits will decrease, but his business will not cease to exist," Musk added.
In addition
The publication notes that the billionaire's statements were the latest in a series of posts on the X social network in which he accused the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ambani of delaying Starlink's entry into one of the world's largest internet markets in order to support the market leader, Jio.
The posts indicate a sharp change in Musk's position, as he had long maintained warm public relations with Modi.
The Indian government rejected accusations of bias in the approval process, stating that all three companies planning to launch satellite services (including Starlink and Jio) are currently awaiting final security approval. Late Friday evening, Musk openly mocked Ambani, calling him "Prime Minister Ambani" and asking whether he "would consider allowing Starlink to compete."
Reliance did not respond to a request for comment on Musk's remarks.