In the first tangible inroads Elon Musk has sought for years in India, Starlink passed a final regulatory hurdle and Tesla opened its first India store.
In the span of a week, two of Elon Musk’s companies, Tesla and SpaceX, hit milestones in India, a country that the billionaire tech entrepreneur has been trying to crack for years.
On July 9, after a three-year process, Starlink, his satellite broadband venture that is a subsidiary of Space X, cleared the final regulatory hurdle to start commercial operations.
And on Tuesday, India’s first Tesla showroom opened in Mumbai, marking the first time Indian consumers can buy the electric cars.
Experts said the developments are signs of progress for Mr. Musk’s efforts to enter India, a country led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with whom Mr. Musk has a complicated relationship. Mr. Musk’s social media company, X, is suing the Indian government over a claim that it misused the law to block content on the platform — even as the two leaders have met often to talk business.
The approval of Starlink is particularly significant. Some 600 million Indians do not use the internet, and even a subsection of those people would represent a significant potential market.
Starlink overcame the last regulatory barrier to setting up its business by winning a license from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre.
