Musk pledges affordable Starlink pricing in India days before Jio's record IPO

Elon Musk said on Saturday that SpaceX would need to set affordable prices for its Starlink satellite internet service in India, warning that otherwise few people would buy it. The remark, posted on his social media platform X, came days before Jio Platforms — the telecom arm controlled by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries — opens what is described as India's largest-ever initial public offering, targeting a valuation of $106 billion, according to Reuters.

Musk did not specify a price for the Indian market. Mobile data in India currently costs about 7.74 rupees, or roughly 8 cents, per gigabyte — among the lowest rates in the world, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters.

Musk escalates rhetoric against Ambani

The pricing comment followed a sharper post a day earlier, on Friday, in which Musk sarcastically addressed Ambani as "Prime Minister Ambani" and asked whether he would allow Starlink to compete, according to Al Jazeera. The post implied that Ambani, rather than Indian regulators, holds sway over whether Starlink is allowed into the market.

On Sunday, Musk went further, accusing online supporters of Ambani of holding contradictory views, according to National Herald India. He argued that the same commentators claimed Starlink could not possibly compete with Jio's pricing while simultaneously warning that Starlink would be too strong a competitor. He dismissed the argument as hypocritical and exaggerated, and said genuine competition would benefit Indian consumers by giving them more choices.

Government says all applicants face the same process

India's government has denied favoring Reliance Jio in the licensing process. Officials said all three satellite broadband ventures seeking entry — Starlink, Jio's satellite service, and Amazon's Kuiper — are awaiting the same final security clearance, Reuters reported. Reliance did not respond to Musk's remarks, according to the same report.

National Herald India noted that India's telecom minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia, has said regulators are nearing a final decision on the pricing framework for satellite spectrum, a separate but related question that will shape how much companies like Starlink and Jio pay to operate in India.

Why the timing matters

The dispute is unfolding just before Jio Platforms' IPO, which Reuters described as India's largest ever by targeted valuation. Starlink's potential entry would introduce a new form of competition — satellite-based internet that does not rely on ground infrastructure — into a market where Jio has driven data prices down through intense competition. Al Jazeera noted that Musk's public tone toward India has shifted markedly from his previously warm relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

What remains unknown

Neither Musk nor SpaceX has published specific Starlink pricing for India. The timeline for final security clearance and the spectrum pricing framework has not been finalized, according to the sources reviewed. Reliance has not issued a public response to Musk's statements.