New Delhi: A frustrated Elon Musk had alleged in a social media post on Wednesday that “oligarchs” were blocking his satellite internet company Starlink’s entry into India.
The Indian government responded by issuing a statement through the Press Information Bureau, saying that its regulatory system was “fair and non-discriminatory” and called any suggestion otherwise “baseless and misconceived.”
Hours later, Musk sharpened his criticism of regulatory hurdles to launch Starlink internet services in India by directly referring to Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and asking whether he is “the real boss of India”.
In his latest social media post on the issue, hours after the Indian government dismissed Musk’s claim, the Tesla and SpaceX boss questioned why Starlink is yet to begin operations despite years of engagement with regulators and efforts to meet compliance requirements.
“Starlink is licenced in over 165 countries and has spent five years complying with every single law and requirement of the government of India, so why still no licence? Is Ambani the real boss of India?” Musk wrote on X on Thursday.
His earlier post had read: “Unfortunately, we are being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people. You can guess who they are…”