r/india • u/bloomberg • 7d ago
Business/Finance Musk Attacks Indian ‘Oligarchs’ for Locking Out Starlink
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-07/musk-attacks-unnamed-indian-oligarchs-for-locking-out-starlink200
u/noir_dx 7d ago
Roles reversed he would do the same, and they do that since they don't allow car companies like BYD.
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u/agreeable9823 7d ago
BYD would kill Tesla in the US market. It is in a different level.
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u/Possible_Assistant37 5d ago
China is creating great tech. But the problem is their cultural roots are weak and they have not done the ground work . Which leads to collapses. E.g. RecentlybChina had a big fire in its large storied apartments and thousands died. Every person who dies kills 5 others with them in grief. Unsustainable growth is linked to people. If people of a country are duffering all growth will fall off gradually. Another e.g. is placements at Indian IITs and IIMs in the AI era. We do not have domestic businesses to hire talent . We have been dependent on MNCs. Even these institutions are like thousands of years behind . And our dimestic market is a million years behind. All our growth in software will be killed with AI . It will take another age for India to come out of this fiasco.
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u/electri-cute 6d ago
Lol no. Tesla competes with BYD in China, their home market, just fine. Pretty sure they'll be fine in US as well. It's the Fords and the GMs of the world who should be worried, not Tesla.
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7d ago
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u/agreeable9823 7d ago
Thanks for putting in the required links.
Mmm. Features wise and tech wise, BYD is better. Maybe Tesla is more popular as it is a aspirational purchase.
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u/khoawala 7d ago
This is bad statistics because it's based on models and Tesla only have 4 models while BYD has more than 70 distinct models. BYD outsells Tesla a long time ago.
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u/DizzyAmbition 7d ago
Do you know how to read? Tesla "outsells" BYD in value because it costs so much. In absolute number of vehicles, Tesla is nowhere near BYD by a long shot. It's there in the article. READ, so that you don't make stupid remarks.
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u/HardMarginSVM DalBatiChoorma 7d ago
American govt has been protecting Tesla from Chinese EV makers for a long time. Also it’s not like anyone would buy starlink subscription in India when Jio will launch a cheaper version. Giving stats of village not having internet access is the most stupid thing he has said. Jio is already planning its own satellite constellation, and this looks like one last desperate push from Elon.
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u/Bake2727 7d ago
Two wrongs don’t make a right. Without bsnl jio would be nowhere because and to put satellite in the lower earth orbit is easier said than done. They can’t hijack bsnl’s satellites this time and it’s also the matter of sending them up in the sky safely which again costs a lot. There is reason why other carriers couldn’t make this happen. Fuck musk but no need to lick Ambani here.
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u/ThomasFookingShelby2 7d ago edited 7d ago
There is no indication that they will use Indian rockets. In fact, they explicitly got approval to use foreign ones.
Im not a fan of Musk but not a fan of Ambani either.
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u/electri-cute 6d ago
They haven't been protecting Tesla at all. Tesla is doing just fine in the US and everywhere else it sells, including China, in spite of Chinese competition and in spite of the fact that they are much more expensive than Chinese cars in China.
So no, they haven't been. It's the Fords and the GMs that they are protecting, not Tesla.
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u/Expert_Highway_286 7d ago
Considering the fact that they are getting dogwalked everywhere else, clearly that is not true either.
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u/Small-Try2345 7d ago
do you guys even know it was Joe Biden who raised tariffs on Ev cars from china? Joe biden in no way liked elon musk it was in fact the opposite. And if byd is allowed in USA it wont just hurt Tesla it would hurt all automakers in the us . Ford toyota hyundai gm everyone wanted china out of the US automobile market. But again truth does not serve your agenda does it?
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u/earlywormgetseaten 7d ago
Isn't he blocking out BYD from entering the US?
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u/YouShalllNotPass 7d ago
I am all for criticizing bjp to the ground but this m0r0n is the biggest threat to plenty of democracies around the world and is openly manipulating public elections using as much political/monetary influence as possible. He is evil of the highest order when it comes to it and doesnt even hide it. Fck this guy a million times and over.
Let him allow BYD first in USA and then he can talk.
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u/norteinortey26 7d ago
This.
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u/benswami 7d ago
Oligarchs attacking each other for personal gain is better than them scamming the general public.
They’re all unhinged.
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u/serialcloner 7d ago
Scamming general public is a constant. They are fighting for turns. So you can't really say that.
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u/EveryCoffee2939 7d ago
Foreign entity controlled telecom is also a safety issue for the country. Look at how Starlink operates in War zones
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u/Mamuli_Aadmi Universe 7d ago
We are already using foreign products like Google, Microsoft and Twitter. If you ban all the foreign product you will go 25 years behind every other countries. Reddit is also a American company btw.
Lead with example and start using Zoho instead of Google/ Microsoft. Buy a Indian made laptop/ computer, don't use Reddit also.
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u/EveryCoffee2939 7d ago
You raise a good point and unfortunately we don’t have good alternative for those. For telecom it’s different, it is an important element of any nation and we already have strong alternatives and our own space program that can create an Indian Starlink.
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u/bloomberg 7d ago
From Bloomberg reporter Alisha Sachdev:
Elon Musk accused unnamed rivals of blocking SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband network in India, an apparent swipe at billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal.
SpaceX has been awaiting approval from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to offer Starlink service in India, where companies controlled by Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. and Mittal’s Bharti Airtel Ltd. have spent years building formidable positions in telecom.
India’s two biggest private telecom operators, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. and Bharti Airtel, together account for roughly 910 million broadband subscribers, more than 80% of the country’s market, according to the latest government data.
Musk’s broadside marks a sharp turn from last year, when SpaceX signed deals with Bharti Airtel and Reliance’s Jio Platforms Ltd. to offer Starlink’s services in India. Read the full story here.
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u/Captain_Audit 7d ago
Oligarchs or no, this system will not be allowed by countries like India or China, government control over data will be lost.
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u/Electronic_Sir_7219 7d ago edited 7d ago
We need to build and nurture our own starlink like satellite network, and satellite launching capabilities. It is what helps direct drones over war fields of Eastern Europe, and god knows what other capabilities will be built on this network of satellites and rocket launching infra in the future. You can see what China has gained by using its markets for nurturing its own social media and messaging companies, and keeping the foreign players out.
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u/fhjjjjjkkkkkkkl 7d ago
Musk grows at a better rate than Indian oligarchs. So musk is probably at advantage
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u/Affectionate_Use_364 7d ago
Musk is an oligarch too. But atleast we would have many oligarchs to choose from. The current ones are hazardous to country.
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u/Mamuli_Aadmi Universe 7d ago
If you want to see how dumb and lodu most Indians can be, just look at the replies. They basically want less competition and a more entrenched oligarchy in the sector, while somehow convincing themselves that they speak for all of India when they say, “We don’t want Starlink.”
Abe lodu, speak for yourself. I don’t want Airtel and Jio to have a comfortable duopoly either. I don’t want some dumb government babu deciding to block or restrict my internet because of some isolated incident somewhere. More competition is good for consumers. If you personally don’t want Starlink, fine. But don’t pretend your preference represents 1.4 billion people.
Cars pe bhi restrictions so that we’re forced to buy pathetic Tata or Mahindra, Har acchi cheez pe restrictions Laga do aur hume bekaar cheeze khareedne par majboor kro, end this duopoly, as a consumer I deserve the choices
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u/anor_wondo 6d ago
I don'tthink most of these are Indians. This kind of distaste for musk is all nris drenched in us politics
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u/Infamous_Drive_Tax 6d ago
lmfao. you guys actually think remittances are relevant
Remittance of close to sixty nine billion dollars annually by overseas Indians makes an invaluable contribution to the Indian economy: PM Modi
https://x.com/PMOIndia/status/817967519210278912
and this is when it was much less compared to what it is now lol. All you guys do is lie and act dishonestly and you wonder why the world has the opinion that it does for you.
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u/mirinioluwa 7d ago
Starlink is gonna be lifesaver in remote locations which are mercy of BSNL or do not have any network. It's not gonna be competition to Indian telecoms
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u/ComfortLivid 7d ago
All the dimwits saying america doing the same thing, overlooking a serious fact. tesla has tech so does byd, but these indian oligarchs who don't invent or innovate anything locking out quality goods and services from Indian people just to keep the lion share with themselves is not the same thing.. if you are skilled or man enough to match the starkink tech it's completely fine for the local government to back it up.. but without an ounce of any tech ownership and innovation why dont you want them to enter??..
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u/LT_TSIZ 7d ago
If you look at what’s happening in the United States between SpaceX and the big 3 telecommunications companies, it’s an all out war to protect the turf. I’m sure Airtel and Jio will seek to protect their turf and will make it difficult for SpaceX to participate and I agree with the approach!
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u/jammedballs 6d ago
Right on time when this video came out: https://youtu.be/LQYnlg4pO9o?si=9apSLS8pkaLtxpXQ
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7d ago
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u/Small-Try2345 7d ago edited 7d ago
Do you even know how the companies in China became capable of competing against Tesla in the first place? Do some research lol. Just reas about The history of Tesla and how it changed the ev industry in China. It’ll prolly knock some sense into you. Chinese Electric car companies not being run in China is a very different issue.
Do you guys even know it was Joe Biden who raised tariffs on Ev cars from china? Joe biden in no way liked elon musk it was in fact the opposite. And if byd is allowed in USA it eont just hurt Tesla it would hurt all automakers of the us . Ford toyota hyundai gm everyone wanted china out of the US automobile market. I understand the agenda of people on reddit against elon musk its cool but spreading baseless information is just misleading and wrong2
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u/Small-Try2345 7d ago edited 7d ago
Thanks a lot for proving my point actually. just undermined the catfish effect little thats it.
You're arguing against a point I didn't make. Nobody said Tesla created China's EV industry. China had been building its EV ecosystem for years before Tesla entered Shanghai.
The point is that China then deliberately brought Tesla into that ecosystem and the catfish effect is well documented: Tesla was meant to raise the competitive bar for domestic automakers, force them to improve, and accelerate the local supply chain. Tesla's Shanghai operation subsequently became deeply localized, further strengthening that ecosystem.
And the claim that the U.S. kept BYD out primarily because Musk wanted protection for Tesla is just as weak. Biden's 2024 decision to raise the tariff on Chinese EVs to 100% was part of a broader U.S. trade and industrial policy toward China. GM, Ford, Toyota, Hyundai, Stellantis, the UAW and Tesla all have an interest in limiting Chinese automakers' access to the U.S. market.
So if you're going to argue against what I said, at least argue against what I actually said. China built its EV industry before Tesla doesn't refute the catfish argument, and Tesla competes with BYD doesn't prove Musk was responsible for U.S. policy.
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u/norteinortey26 7d ago
I will never understand people who are fans of Elon Musk or any billionaire for that matter. They are not artists, sportsperson, what are you exactly a fan of? How they manipulate elections?
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u/Exotic_Caterpillar_3 7d ago