With Donald Trump taking oath as the US President and Elon Musk joining his administration shortly, will the billionaire entrepreneur fulfill his business ambitions in India?
Will he leverage his position and proximity to the president to put pressure on India and get favourable deals for his dream projects of Starlink and Tesla in Asia’s third-largest economy?
Elon Musk Reaches Out To India
Days before Donald Trump’s inauguration, the tech billionaire tried to reach out to India when he told a group of Indian business tycoons that the India-US ties are “trending positive” and that he supports an increased India-US trade partnership.
After he sent signals that he wanted to work closer with India, the question being asked is: will he get favourable business deals for his pet projects of Starlink and Tesla, which have been hanging fire for quite some time and faced rough weather in India.
Elon Musk’s Starlink got a severe jolt recently when the Indian government declared that the satellite spectrum for broadband would be allocated administratively rather than through auction.
Will Starlink Get Satellite Broadband Spectrum?
With this, the race between the world’s richest man and Mukesh Ambani, known for his good relations with the ruling party, intensified. Ambani, the owner of Reliance Jio supports the government’ stand, criticised by Musk.
Also Read: Donald Trump Inauguration: Can India Leverage US, Quad To Counter China?
Satellite broadband is a good option for India as it provides internet access anywhere within the satellite’s coverage.It helps to bridge the hard-to-reach digital divide as well.
On the other hand, traditional services uses telephone lines to transmit data or cable.
The competition to grab this business is very intense as the number of satellite internet subscribers in India may reach two million this year.
Reliance Jio Vs Starlink
The competition has been intensified as about half a dozen key players, including Ambani’s Reliance Jio, are in the field.
Ambani’s Reliance Jio has joined hands with leading satellite operator Luxembourg-based SES Astra.
If media reports are to be believed, Jio has chosen SES because it operates medium-Earth orbit (MEO) satellites at a much higher altitude and offers a cheaper system.
Stalink has already positioned 6,419 satellites in orbit enjoying a subscriber base of four million spanned across 100 countries.
If Elon Musk’s firm gets the satellite broadband rights, the ruling BJP may boast of foreign investment in the country.
On the other hand, Mukesh Ambai has very good relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Analysts believe, India’ richest man reached out to Donald Trump and got the invitation for the pre-inauguration lunch in a bid to make his presence felt and somehow counter Elon Musk.
Tesla Eyes Indian EV Market
Besides, Elon Musk’s Tesla is trying its best to find a foothold in India, the country where the automobile sector is spreading on a massive scale, buoyed on the emergence of a big middle class.
Besides, India has a developed infrastructure base for the automobile sector, having a large mumber of skilled and cheap workmen.
Tesla is holding talks with the government of India. The earlier attempt of the company collapsed because of increased tariff on the automobile parts.
Will Tesla Shift From China?
However, the government has tweaked its import policy recently to allow a few EV makers and Tesla can use this to get the permission and set up its manufacturing base in the country.
Tesla, with its operations in China, sold about 1.79 million cars in 2024, 1% less than 1.8 million in 2023. However, it is facing stiff competetion from BYD, that sold 1.76 million EVs last year.
One of the main reasons for eyeing the Indian market and opening its manufacturing facility in the country is the possible US-China trade war.
US-China Trade War
Donald Trump has already announced to impose additional tariffs on imports, particularly from China. Expers believe, that while a flat 10 tariff may be imposed on all imports coming from all countries, the goods from China may have to pay tariffs as high as 60%.
Elon Musk announced his allegiance to Donald Trump and invested billions of dollars in his campaign at a time when Democrat candidate Kamala Harris enjoyed a clear edge over him.
Trump has awarded him by making Musk the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a governmental advisory body.
Will he leverage his position to get favourable deals in India? Will Starlink and Tesla open their shops and invest billions of dollars in India soon?
