Musk’s India Romance Ends in Acrimony as Starlink, Tesla Stall

Submission Statement: Elon Musk’s extraordinary swipes at Indian billionaires this week mark a sharp turn in a relationship that once promised to make the world’s most populous nation a major new frontier for his business empire.

The outbursts come after SpaceX has spent years trying to bring its satellite unit to the country — and amid a broader string of disappointments for Musk in the subcontinent. Tesla Inc., Musk’s electric car company, has sold around 1,000 vehicles since opening its first Indian showroom 15 months ago. And X, now part of SpaceX, is embroiled in a court fight over the government’s powers to order online content removed.

The cool reception for Musk’s business operations has confounded expectations they would make rapid headway into India’s vast but complex markets.

The relationship has since been complicated, according to people familiar with the government’s thinking, by two main factors: Musk’s own volatile political standing in Washington, and a loss of enthusiasm for him in New Delhi after years in which promised investments and visits failed to materialize.

Musk’s business woes in India illustrate the difficulty for companies involved in sensitive industries operating across borders in an era of heightened geopolitical tensions. The national security implications of next-generation technology in areas ranging from satellites to semiconductors have increasingly become a barrier to global trade.

What makes the case for SpaceX, Tesla and X more difficult in some markets is concern about Musk’s relative proximity to power in Washington, as well as his penchant for speaking out about sensitive topics — both at home and abroad.

Government officials are holding back on final security clearances for Starlink due to concerns over technological sovereignty and relying on a US-controlled network for critical communications, especially in the wake of the war in Iran, people familiar said, asking for anonymity to discuss private deliberations. And the security issue intersects with a more delicate calculation: how dealing with Musk could affect New Delhi’s relationship with Washington.

Musk’s shifting relationship with Trump has led to greater caution, the people said. The one-time major backer of Trump’s re-election campaign feuded with the president last year, but more recently the two men have shown signs of mending fences. Amid that confusion, New Delhi sees little reason to tackle Musk in a way that could be poorly received by the White House, they said.

India’s hesitation comes at an awkward moment for Musk, whose need for the country is arguably growing. India is one of the few big markets where his businesses — Starlink, Tesla and X — still have substantial room to expand.

India spent years courting Tesla, hoping Musk would build cars locally and bring investment, jobs and advanced manufacturing technology with him. Tesla instead entered with imported vehicles, opening its first showroom in Mumbai in July 2025 without committing to the local factory New Delhi had sought.

Then there are the no-shows. Musk was due to visit India in April 2024 for a meeting with Modi and an expected announcement around Tesla’s investment plans. But he canceled at the last minute, citing “very heavy Tesla obligations” and promising to come later that year. Days later, he surfaced in Beijing instead, rubbing salt in the wound. After speaking with Modi in April 2025, Musk revived the pledge, saying he was looking forward to visiting India “later this year.” That visit didn’t happen either. The repeated snubs have come to symbolize a courtship heavy on anticipation but relatively light on tangible commitments.

The risk for Musk is that the balance of leverage is changing. India once pursued his good graces as a prize that could bring an electric-car factory, cutting-edge satellite technology and billions of dollars of investment. Today, Tesla and Starlink both need new avenues for growth, but India is beginning to see home-grown alternatives to those cars and satellites.

Reliance and Airtel dominate its telecom market, and Ambani is looking to build a homegrown Starlink-rival with ambitions to put hundreds of satellites in space over the next few years. Similarly, Tesla has entered an auto market saddled with high import levies, crowded with domestic and global EV manufacturers competing for a piece of the pie.