Elon Musk picked his newest fight, butting heads with India over its failure to greenlight Starlink

Elon Musk hit out at "oligarchs" in India who he says are blocking Starlink.

Finn Gomez/Getty Images Starlink has been seeking approval to operate in India since 2022.

Elon Musk hit out in a series of X posts, alleging it was being "blocked by certain oligarchs." India's largest telecoms firm is planning a similar service, and another has partnered with a Starlink rival.

Elon Musk has picked his latest fight, losing patience with Indian authorities for withholding final approval for Starlink to offer commercial services.

The trillionaire issued scores of X posts in the last 24 hours complaining about the delays, and replied to many more supportive comments from followers on the issue.

"Unfortunately, we are being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people," he said on Wednesday.

"This is a crime against the people of India!" Starlink first applied for licenses to operate commercially in India in 2022.

Although it received a license last year, it is still awaiting final approval.

Musk didn't initially name the "oligarchs" he railed against, but telecoms services in India are largely dominated by two firms: Jio and Airtel.

The firms are run by Mukesh Ambani, the world's 25th-wealthiest person, and fellow billionaire Sunil Mittal.

He later posted asking if "Ambani is the real boss of India? 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? Is Ambani the real boss of India? — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 8, 2026 Starlink signed partnerships with both Jio and Airtel last year, but they also appear to have their own satellite ambitions.

Jio is planning a constellation of 1,600 satellites in low Earth orbit, which would provide internet access in a similar way to Starlink.

However, Jio has yet to launch a satellite, and Musk's service has a constellation of over 11,000 satellites, providing extensive coverage.

"Starlink will be of great help to areas of India that have bad or no Internet and even no mobile coverage," Musk said in one post on Thursday morning.