Elon Musk targets Ambani with reports on Reliance-linked BJP donations as Starlink row grows

Elon Musk has escalated his public clash with Mukesh Ambani, sharing screenshots of investigative reports detailing political funding and campaign work linked to Reliance Industries in support of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

The posts on X, published on Saturday, target the Reliance chairman as Starlink faces continued delays in securing commercial clearance for its satellite broadband service in India. Musk shared an Al Jazeera investigation from 2022 reporting how a Reliance-funded entity promoted BJP campaigns on Facebook, alongside an archived 2024 report by The Indian Express detailing political donations made by Qwik Supply Chain Private Limited. That report documented ₹385 crore in electoral bond donations to the BJP and ₹25 crore to the Shiv Sena from the Reliance-linked firm.

Reliance has not commented publicly on Musk’s allegations.

The documents follow days of escalating rhetoric from Musk, who sarcastically addressed Ambani as "Prime Minister Ambani" on Friday and asked whether he was the "real boss of India". Musk accused domestic conglomerates of maintaining an "oligarchic chokehold" to stifle competition, arguing that Starlink has spent five years complying with local regulations and already holds operational licences in more than 165 countries.

What the government says about satcom approvals

The central government has firmly rejected any suggestion of favouritism. Speaking on Friday at the India Mobile Congress in New Delhi, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said India does not permit monopolies in any sector and called accusations of selective regulation "baseless and misconceived".

Scindia noted that three entities have secured satellite communications licences: Musk’s Starlink, Reliance Jio’s satellite arm Jio Satcom, and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb. Amazon’s Project Kuiper has also submitted an application. All three licence holders, Scindia said, remain at broadly the same stage: they must individually clear mandated security conditions before the Department of Telecommunications and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India assign spectrum based on an upcoming pricing formula.

"For us, the Department of Telecommunications, we are technology-agnostic," Scindia said, adding that it is up to consumers in a free market to choose their service provider.

Scrutiny, cheap data, and political blowback

Musk’s broadside has drawn mixed reactions. On social media, critics quickly pointed out his own political spending in the United States, where his America PAC poured upwards of $200 million into Donald Trump’s successful 2024 presidential campaign.

Industry figures have also pushed back against Musk's portrayal of the Indian telecoms market. Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu defended the domestic landscape, noting that aggressive local competition has already given India some of the lowest mobile data tariffs in the world alongside public digital infrastructure like UPI.

Political tensions have also surfaced. After Congress leader Rahul Gandhi engaged with Musk on social media over the regulatory delay, Scindia took aim at the opposition, claiming the party lacked a consistent stance after previously raising concerns about foreign satellite licensing.

For now, the commercial debut of Starlink remains on hold until the security approvals and spectrum charges are finalised, leaving the world's richest man in an unusually noisy standoff with India's most powerful corporate giant.