'Real boss of India?': Elon Musk takes aim at Indian billionaire Ambani as Starlink launch stalls

In March last year, Starlink signed pacts with Ambani's Jio Platforms and India's second-largest telecom company Airtel to explore cross-selling the products and services of the U.S. company in India.

Following the interim deals, Musk's satellite internet business in July last year got a license to launch its services in India.

But Starlink could not launch. Bloomberg reported earlier this year that New Delhi had frozen approvals for Starlink over concerns that its terminals could be used despite the service not being licensed.

Meanwhile, Akash Ambani, the son of Mukesh and managing director of Jio Platforms, told shareholders in June that his company was planning to roll out low-orbit satellite communications in the country.

Jio is looking to set up set up a satellite network of around 1,600 LEO satellites and 23 ground stations to expand connectivity across India, according to local media reports. Starlink, on the other hand, has 11,000 satellites in orbit that provide service to people in over 170 countries and territories.

Akash Ambani on Thursday told Moneycontrol, a platform owned by the Reliance Group, that the company believes "India needs its own indigenous stack of technologies."

Satellite communication is not the only space where Musk's business plans in India have failed to take off. Tesla, which was launched last year in the South Asian country, has received an underwhelming response, with the company reportedly selling just a little over 1,000 cars since launch.