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

BENGALURU, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Elon Musk pledged to make Starlink's satellite internet service affordable in India to challenge Mukesh Ambani's low-cost Reliance Jio, stepping up his criticisms of the rival billionaire ahead of Jio's parent company's launch of the country's largest IPO. Jio Platforms, which owns the telecom arm, aims for a $106 billion valuation in the offering.

Similar to SpaceX-owned Starlink, Jio's satellite venture is also awaiting final security clearance to launch. As cheap data has built Jio's success in India, Musk has employed a similar strategy in markets like Kenya to disrupt local telecom providers. SpaceX now intends to enter the mobile carrier market, starting in the US. Musk did not disclose prices for India, where mobile data costs around 8 cents per gigabyte, among the lowest in the world.

In order for Starlink to be successful in India, it must be priced affordably, Musk stated on his social media platform X on Saturday. The company's entry into the Indian market would benefit consumers by offering more choices, Musk added. Ambani's profits may decrease, but he is not facing bankruptcy. The billionaire's comments followed a series of X posts where he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government and Ambani of delaying Starlink's entry into one of the world's largest internet markets to favor the incumbent Jio.

Musk's rhetoric has shifted since he previously enjoyed a friendly relationship with Modi. The Indian government denied any bias in its approval process, stating that Starlink and Jio's satellite ventures are all awaiting final security clearance. On Friday, Musk directly mocked Ambani by referring to him as "Prime Minister Ambani" and questioned whether he would allow Starlink to compete. Reliance has not commented on Musk's latest remarks.