Musk targets affordable Starlink pricing in India amid Jio IPO plans

Elon Musk has promised affordable pricing for Starlink’s satellite internet service in India, taking aim at Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio days before the telecom group’s parent company launches what is set to be India’s largest-ever initial public offering (IPO).

Jio Platforms, which owns Reliance’s telecom arm, is targeting a valuation of $106 billion in the offering. Starlink, owned by SpaceX, and Jio’s own satellite internet venture are both awaiting final security clearance to launch their services.

Low-cost data helped Jio build its position in India’s telecom market. Musk has followed a similar approach in markets such as Kenya, where his company has sought to challenge local telecom operators. SpaceX is also planning to enter the mobile carrier market, starting in the US.

Musk did not disclose Starlink’s proposed prices for India, where mobile data costs about 8 cents per gigabyte, among the lowest rates in the world.

“Obviously, if Starlink is too expensive in India, no one will buy it, so SpaceX will need to make pricing affordable,” he said in a post on his social media platform X on Saturday.

“The reality is that competition would greatly benefit the average citizen in India by giving them more choices, as it always does. Ambani’s profits will be lower, but he is not going out of business,” Musk added.

Musk calls Ambani ‘Prime Minister Ambani’

Musk’s latest remarks follow a series of posts on X in which 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 favour Jio, the market leader.

The posts mark a shift in Musk’s public stance towards the Indian government, as he has long maintained a warm public rapport with Modi.

The Indian government has denied bias in its approval process, saying that all three satellite ventures seeking to launch services, including Starlink and Jio’s, are awaiting final security clearance.

Late on Friday, Musk directly taunted Ambani, addressing him as “Prime Minister Ambani” and asking whether he would “consider allowing Starlink to compete”.

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