belowElon Musk vs Mukesh Ambani: After a direct attack on Mukesh Ambani on Friday last week, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is now targeting Reliance Industries Ltd — an Indian multinational conglomerate, founded by Mukesh Ambani's father, Late Dhirubhai Ambani, in 1958. After taking a jibe at the Indian government by calling Mukesh Ambani ‘Prime Minister Ambani’, the CEO of SpaceX, the parent company of the Starlink satellite internet constellation, has shared Reliance Industries-backed firms' donation to the Indian political party BJP, which is the principal party in the ruling coalition NDA in New Delhi.
Decoding the recent swipes of Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Mukesh Ambani and his Reliance Industries, Mahesh M Ojha, VP — Research and Business Development at KC Securities, said, “We do not need to see any political angle in it. It is a race against time, where two top businessmen compete. Mukesh Ambani, whose Jio Platforms would be a peer to Elon Musk's Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX. While Elon Musk is yet to come up with a clear picture about Starlink, such as price, valuation, timeline, etc., Mukesh Ambani is already in business and has decided to demerge his business from the Jio Platform's brand parent, Reliance Industries Ltd.”
Comparing the two businesses, Sandeep Pandey, Co-founder of Basav Capital, said, “Jio Platforms has the luxury of executing business plans through the existing business network and the understanding of the target audience. On the other hand, Starlink will have the luxury of tapping a new market and competing against the existing giants. One needs to remember how Musk established Starlink in markets like Kenya to unsettle local telecom players. So, the two companies and their masters know the art of establishing their businesses, and it would be important to see how this war of words unfolds in India.”
According to Reuters, Elon Musk said he would price Starlink's satellite internet service affordably in India to take on Mukesh Ambani's low-cost Reliance Jio, escalating his attacks on the rival billionaire days before Jio's parent company launches India's largest-ever IPO.
Jio Platforms, which owns the telecom arm, is targeting a $106 billion valuation for the offering. Much like SpaceX-owned Starlink (SPCX.O), Jio's own satellite venture is also awaiting final security clearance to launch.