‘Mukesh Ambani afraid of Elon Musk’? Tesla billionaire responds to meme on Reliance boss

Elon Musk responded to a meme featuring Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani as the battle between the two billionaires over allocation of satellite broadband spectrum in India heated up.

“I will call and ask if it would not be too much trouble to allow Starlink to compete to provide Internet services to the people of India,” the CEO of SpaceX promised on Tuesday, responding to a meme which shows Mukesh Ambani.

The response came hours after Musk said a move by India to auction satellite broadband spectrum, and not allocate it, would be “unprecedented.” He was reacting to a Reuters story about rival billionaire Mukesh Ambani lobbying for the auction route.

After Musk’s criticism, the Indian government on Tuesday said it will allot spectrum for satellite broadband administratively and not via auction.

Take a look at Elon Musk’s response to the meme featuring Mukesh Ambani below:

Battle between billionaires

In what is seen as a battle between the two billionaires, Starlink argues administrative allotment of licences is in line with a global trend, while Ambani's Reliance says an auction is needed for a level playing field as foreign players could offer voice and data services and compete with traditional telecom players, Reuters reported.

Musk aims to expand Starlink's satellite internet services to rural areas in India, where high-speed internet is scarce. The Tesla billionaire contends that auctioning the spectrum would impose geographical restrictions and increase costs, making it harder for companies like Starlink to operate competitively.

On the other hand, Ambani's Reliance Jio favours the auction route. Jio argues that auctioning the spectrum ensures a level playing field, as it prevents foreign companies from having an unfair advantage over local telecom providers.

The latest update

The methodology of giving out spectrum for satellite services in India - a market set to grow 36% a year to reach $1.9 billion by 2030 - has been a contentious issue since last year.

With India opting for the allotment over auction, the issue seems to be swaying in favour of Musk.

A few hours ago, Musk reacted to another post from the Doge Designer account which read: “India’s government said it will allot spectrum for satellite broadband administratively and not via auction, hours after Elon Musk criticised the auction route being sought by billionaire Mukesh Ambani.”

“Much appreciated! We will do our best to serve the people of India with Starlink,” wrote Elon Musk.

(With inputs from Reuters)