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

Bengaluru, Oct 10 - SpaceX founder Elon Musk vowed to offer Starlink's satellite internet service at affordable prices in India, in an attempt to compete with Mukesh Ambani's low-cost Reliance Jio. Musk's comments came just before Jio Platforms plans to launch India's largest-ever IPO, targeting a valuation of US$106 billion.

Like SpaceX, Jio's satellite venture is also awaiting final security clearance to launch. Cheaper data helped Jio dominate the Indian market, and Musk employed a similar strategy in his own ventures like Kenya. SpaceX is now planning to enter the mobile carrier market in the US.

Musk did not disclose the exact pricing for India, where mobile data costs around US$0.08 per gigabyte - the lowest in the world. He stated on Twitter that "if Starlink is too expensive in India, no one will buy it." Musk accused the government and Ambani of intentionally delaying Starlink's entry to favor Jio, claiming that competition would benefit Indian citizens by providing more options. However, he added that Ambani's profits would likely decrease but the billionaire company would not go out of business.

Musk's remarks followed a series of social media posts where he criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government and Ambani for allegedly stalling Starlink's entry into the Indian market to favor Jio. Musk accused India's government of being biased, noting that all three satellite ventures - Starlink's and Jio's - are awaiting final security clearance. On Friday, Musk directly taunted Ambani, addressing him as "Prime Minister Ambani" and asking if he would "consider allowing Starlink to compete."

Reliance has not responded to requests for comment on Musk's remarks.