Musk Calls Gandhi’s Starlink Reply “Indeed Troubling”

By John Maximus · Published 9 October 2026
Reported from named sources and checked against the publishers linked in this article. Corrections: editorial and corrections policy.

SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk called the situation around Starlink’s bid for a commercial licence for its satellite internet service in India “indeed troubling” on Thursday, replying directly to Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, India’s lower house of parliament. According to ANI, Musk posted “Thank you, Rahul. This is indeed troubling” after Gandhi answered an earlier Musk post about Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani.

Key facts

• Gandhi’s reply on X, dated 8 October, read: “Welcome to India, Elon. Wait till you discover the other guy,” The News Mill reported.
• Musk had written that Starlink “is licensed 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 license?” before asking whether Ambani is “the real boss of India.”
• India’s Department of Telecommunications has licensed three satellite operators: Starlink, Reliance Jio’s satellite arm Jio Satcom and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb.
• None can sell satellite internet commercially until security assessments and spectrum assignment — the formal allotment of radio frequencies an operator needs before it can switch on service — are finished, the telecom ministry said.
• Minister of State for Communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani said the pending step sits with the Ministry of Home Affairs and “has nothing to do with one company.”

Why it matters for satellite internet in India

National Herald reported that India’s telecom market is dominated by Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, and that satellite broadband is a potential new segment that could extend connectivity to remote and underserved areas.

What is known about pricing

The same outlet reported that Musk said Starlink in India would enable high-speed, affordable internet for people who cannot afford current prices or have no connection at all. He attached no figure to that claim, Starlink’s own India page carries no price, and neither Jio Satcom nor Eutelsat OneWeb has published retail satellite internet rates for the country in any of the reports reviewed.

What the government said

The Ministry of Communications, which oversees the Department of Telecommunications, set out its position in a statement quoted by both ANI and National Herald.

The licensing framework

• India’s authorisation framework for telecom and satellite services is “fair and non-discriminatory,” and any suggestion of selective application is “baseless and misconceived.”
• Licences went to three Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) providers — the licence class covering satellite voice and broadband sold direct to users — running non-geosynchronous satellite orbit (NGSO) systems, meaning satellites that move across the sky rather than sitting over one point.
• Each licensee must demonstrate compliance with prescribed security conditions covering user safety and data.

The security assessment

The assessment “is currently under way in respect of all three licensees,” the ministry said, placing them at broadly the same regulatory stage. That rebuttal, which rejected the “oligarch” allegation as baseless, came out earlier on the same day as Musk’s Ambani post.

Pemmasani, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the India Mobile Congress, the country’s flagship telecoms event, in New Delhi, said the Department of Telecom had issued licences and provisional spectrum to the satcom companies and that the matter is now pending with the home ministry. “As soon as it is cleared, they will get it,” he said, in remarks carried by The Daily Jagran. Neither the ministry statement nor the minister set a deadline for finishing the assessment in any of the reports reviewed.

How the row started

A day before the Ambani post, Musk alleged on X that “certain oligarchs” were blocking Starlink to protect a “monopolistic chokehold” on the Indian market, calling it a crime against the people of India, ANI reported. He did not identify any company. Starlink is still waiting on security clearances.

On 7 October, Starlink vice-president of business operations Lauren Dreyer told the India Mobile Congress that the company had built India-specific security controls and ground infrastructure, including the 20 gateway sites it has built in India with hundreds of antennas. Dreyer said: “We’re keeping Indian users’ data within India,” and that Starlink had worked with Indian regulators, industry stakeholders and operators for five years.

Where the reports differ

• Reliance’s response. National Herald reported that Jio Platforms managing director Akash Ambani declined to comment, saying he had not seen Musk’s remarks. The Daily Jagran also said he would not comment on the row, but quoted him telling Business Today that satellite is one technology among several, that home broadband is one of its biggest use cases, and that Jio is building end-to-end indigenous technology.
• Timing. National Herald dates the war of words to Thursday 8 October. ANI, writing from Washington DC with an update stamped 9 October, describes Musk’s comments as made on Thursday local time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Musk respond to claims that Starlink was used by militants in Manipur?

Yes. According to National Herald, Musk rejected those claims, saying Starlink’s satellite beams had been switched off over India and therefore could not have been used for any purpose there. He did not provide further detail in the posts the outlet cited.

What did Bharti Airtel say about Musk’s allegations?

Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, whose group backs Eutelsat OneWeb, told reporters at the India Mobile Congress that his own satellite venture was also awaiting clearance, saying “We are waiting for our own approvals,” National Herald reported.

How much will Starlink’s satellite internet cost in India?

SpaceX has not said. The only rate published on Starlink’s own site is for the United States, where standard residential service is listed at $120 a month with hardware bought separately, and the company has not indicated how an Indian plan would be priced against that.

When could Starlink start commercial service in India?

No operator has named a date. The government has not published a target for completing the home ministry’s clearance, none of the reports reviewed carried a deadline, and Starlink’s India page takes sign-ups without listing a service start date.