Elon Musk lashes out at Indian ‘Prime Minister’ Mukesh Ambani in Starlink

NEW: Elon Musk lashes out at Mukesh Ambani, accusing the Indian billionaire of being the country's 'real boss' amid delays to Starlink's entry into India.

Elon Musk just called Mukesh Ambani the real Prime Minister of India.

Starlink has been trying to get into the Indian market for years, and the delays keep piling up. Musk's explanation is that Ambani, Asia's richest man, is pulling political strings to keep him out. He's accusing him of being the country's real boss, and he said it in public, with the actual Prime Minister very much in office.

Why would Ambani care? Because his Reliance Jio has over five hundred million subscribers, and satellite internet landing on Indian soil is a direct shot at that empire. Musk says that dominance is being protected by political interference, which is a serious allegation to lob at the most powerful businessman in India.

Two of the richest men on the planet, one market of a billion and a half people, and now it's personal. New Delhi has to pick a side, and whichever way it leans, somebody very rich is going to be very unhappy.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.