'Welcome to India, Elon': Rahul Gandhi reacts to Musk's Starlink remark; SpaceX CEO responds

Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday reacted to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's latest remarks on Starlink's delayed entry into India, telling the billionaire to "wait till you discover the other guy".

"Welcome to India, Elon. Wait till you discover the other guy," Rahul Gandhi wrote on X.

Musk responded to Rahul Gandhi's post, saying: "Thank you, Rahul. This is indeed troubling."

The exchange came after Musk once again questioned why Starlink had not been granted a licence to operate in 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?" Musk wrote on Thursday.

Musk's 'oligarchs' claim

Musk on Wednesday alleged that Starlink was being blocked by unnamed "oligarchs" to protect their position in the Indian market.

"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!" he wrote.

In another post, Musk said Starlink could help areas in India with poor or no internet and mobile coverage.

"Starlink will be of great help to areas of India that have bad or no Internet and even no mobile coverage," he said. "No country has perfect coverage, including America, but Starlink can fill in the coverage gaps for those who most need it."

Government says framework is fair

The Ministry of Communications has rejected suggestions that India's regulatory framework for satellite communication services is discriminatory.

The ministry said India has a "fair and non-discriminatory authorisation framework" for all telecom services, including satellite communication services.

It said licences have been granted to three global mobile personal communication by satellite services based on non-geosynchronous satellite orbit technology. All three licensees are required to demonstrate compliance with security conditions.

“Security assessment as part of this process is currently under way in respect of all the three licensees,” the ministry said.

It added that all three entities are currently at “broadly the same regulatory stage” and that the suggestion that the framework or its application is unfair or discriminatory is “baseless and misconceived.”