Elon Musk alleges “oligarch” interference in Starlink’s India launch
Elon Musk has accused unnamed Indian 'oligarchs' of blocking Starlink's entry into the Indian market to protect their own monopolies. While Starlink has received some regulatory authorizations, it still faces hurdles regarding security approvals and spectrum allocation debates.
Why it matters
The conflict highlights the tension between global tech expansion and local market protectionism in the rapidly growing Indian digital economy.
Years into SpaceX’s efforts to get permissions to operate its satellite broadband service in India, the firm’s founder and CEO Elon Musk has accused “certain oligarchs” in India of stimying the service’s launch in India. Mr. Musk made the accusation on X, formerly Twitter, hours after one of his firm’s executives said she hoped that the service would be live in India by 2027.
Responding to a user on X who was demanding the launch of Starlink in India, Mr. Musk said, “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 …This is a crime against the people of India!”
Also covering this story
5 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
Elon Musk and Palmer Luckey's new Pentagon roles raise ethics worries
Elon Musk is a trillionaire again
Elon Musk Is a Trillionaire Again. He’s Also Reaching New Heights of Self-Debasement
Elon Musk Becomes Trillionaire Again As SpaceX, Tesla Shares Rise
Elon Musk takes sides in Jeff Bezos vs Mark Zuckerberg fight
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in