Elon Musk has pledged to make Starlink affordable in India and renewed his attack on Mukesh Ambani's telecoms dominance, days before Jio Platforms launches an IPO targeting a valuation of around $106 billion — potentially India's largest-ever listing, according to Reuters.

In a series of posts on X, the SpaceX chief argued that competition from Starlink would benefit Indian consumers by expanding connectivity options. "The reality is that competition would greatly benefit the average citizen in India by giving them more choices, as it always does," he wrote. He added: "Ambani's profits will be lower, but he is not going out of business."

How big is the business Musk is attacking?

Jio Platforms brings together Reliance Jio, India's largest operator, which closed March with 524.4 million subscribers, including 268.5 million on 5G. The IPO Musk is targeting with his rhetoric values the whole unit at roughly $106 billion, a figure Reuters reported as the company's target.

Musk also dismissed claims that Starlink would struggle to compete with Jio's low-cost data plans while simultaneously posing an existential threat to the incumbent. "This is absurd hypocrisy and hyperbole," he said.

What did Musk say about regulation?

Musk has escalated his criticism of India's regulatory process in recent days, accusing authorities and "certain oligarchs" of delaying Starlink's entry into the country to preserve what he called a "monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people."

In a post on 9 October, he sarcastically addressed the Reliance Industries chairman as "Prime Minister Ambani" and asked whether he would "consider allowing Starlink to compete."

"Please accept my humble apologies for not realizing that you are the real boss of India," Musk wrote.

He argued satellite connectivity could bring internet access to underserved communities, improve educational opportunities and let small businesses reach international markets. "Starlink would change their lives for the better," he posted.

Where does the licensing standoff actually stand?

India's Ministry of Communications has rejected allegations of discriminatory treatment. It states that Starlink and the incumbent operators Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio sit at broadly the same stage of the regulatory process.

All three hold initial approvals for satellite services. Each still needs outstanding security clearances before it can obtain spectrum access and launch commercial operations.

That positions the spat as much commercial as regulatory. Musk's posts land days before Jio Platforms begins its record listing, and any Starlink entry would follow clearances that also cover Airtel's and Jio's own satellite ventures — a timeline the ministry, not Ambani, controls.