What Elon SaidAn archive of questions answered

Subjects / Starlink

Starlink

38 answers

Fact

Can Starlink outcompete undersea internet cables?

“~100 lasers per satellite, each operating above 10 Tb/s, with over 100k satellites should be able to outcompete undersea cables. Speed of light in space is ~40% faster than cable and the path is direct, instead of following the outline of land masses.”

— Elon Musk, 6 November 2026 · Post on X ↗ · In the archive

Opinion

What's your view on the war in Ukraine / Starlink there?

“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS. Starlink is a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX. Usage of Starlink is limited to civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would be inappropriate for a commercial company.”

— Elon Musk, 14 October 2026 · Post on X ↗ · In the archive

Fact

What's next for Starlink (direct to cell, revenue)?

“The ridiculous arguments by Ambani’s army of Internet shills make no sense On the one hand, they say Starlink couldn’t possibly compete with the amazing low prices offered by Ambani’s de facto monopoly in India and then, in the same breath, they essentially claim that Starlink would be too strong of a competitor! This is absurd hypocrisy and hyperbole. The reality is that competition would greatly benefit the average citizen in India by giving them more choices, as it always does. Ambani’s profits will be lower, but he is not going out of business. And, obviously, if Starlink is too expensive in India, no one will buy it, so SpaceX will need to make pricing affordable.”

— Elon Musk, 10 October 2026 · Post on X ↗ · In the archive

Fact

Can Starlink save lives?

“Also, Starlink has proven to be essential for saving lives during natural disasters throughout the world, when all other communications systems have failed, so you would also be helping save men, women and children throughout India. 🇮🇳 Starlink saves lives during natural disasters… Starlink brings Internet access to remote places…”

— Elon Musk, 8 October 2026 · Post on X ↗ · In the archive

Fact

What's next for Starlink (direct to cell, revenue)?

“There will also ultimately be >100k V3/V4/V5 satellites for Starlink broadband and direct to cellphone connectivity. If growth continues, Starlink will one day carry the majority of Internet traffic. At that point, it is the Internet and everything else just connects to Starlink.”

— Elon Musk, 24 May 2026 · Post on X ↗ · In the archive

Fact

Do aliens exist?

“I’ve not seen any evidence of aliens… And SpaceX, with the Starlink constellation, has roughly 6,000 satellites, and not once have we had to maneuver around a UFO… Never. So I’m like, okay, I don’t see any evidence of aliens.”

— Elon Musk, 6 May 2024 · Space.com ↗ · In the archive

Prediction

Will Starlink IPO and let retail investors in early?

“We will probably IPO Starlink, but only several years in the future when revenue growth is smooth & predictable. Public market does *not* like erratic cash flow haha. I’m a huge fan of small retail investors. Will make sure they get top priority. You can hold me to it.”

— Elon Musk, 28 September 2020 · Post on X ↗ · In the archive

Opinion

Why build a satellite internet network?

“We see this as a way for SpaceX to generate revenue that can be used to develop more and more advanced rockets and spaceships… We believe we can use the revenue from Starlink to fund Starship.”

— Elon Musk, 15 May 2019 · CNBC ↗ · In the archive