--- title: "There Appears to Be a Huge Problem With SpaceX’s Starlink" description: "According to a damning new report, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk may have underplayed the costs involved in launching Starlink satellites." date: "2024-04-10" modified: "2024-04-10" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/huge-problem-spacex-starlink-profit" categories: - "Space" - "SpaceX" tags: - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" - "starlink" - "the digest" --- # There Appears to Be a Huge Problem With SpaceX’s Starlink ![According to a damning new report, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk may have underplayed the costs involved in launching Starlink satellites.]() *\Image: SpaceX\* ## Balance Sheet In a brief announcement on his social media platform last year, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk [celebrated]() that the company's Starlink broadband service had "achieved breakeven cash flow." "Starlink is also now a majority of all active satellites and will have launched a majority of all satellites cumulatively from Earth by next year," he said at the time. But [according to a damning new report]() by *Bloomberg*, Musk may have [once again]() rigged the numbers in his favor by greatly underplaying the costs involved in launching the satellites, when in reality the company is losing "hundreds of dollars on each of the millions of ground terminals it ships." According to *Bloomberg*'s sources, SpaceX's accounting was "more of an art than a science" and the much-hyped system isn't actually profitable, despite Musk's assurances. The company has kept its financials close to its chest, especially while fundraising. During a March press conference, SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen appeared cagey, telling reporters in a carefully worded comment that "I don’t know that I want to quantify those numbers, but we are in positive cash flow and profitable territory for our satellite business now." In short, is SpaceX's Starlink business cashflow positive, as Musk claims, or merely in "profitable territory"? The distinction could make all the difference for Musk's outsize plans for space colonization. ## Starkinked The mercurial CEO has long argued that the internet satellite broadband arm of his space company will provide the funding necessary to [get humans to Mars](). According to *Bloomberg*, Starlink represents more than half of SpaceX's revenue this year. As of now, SpaceX has launched 5,600 satellites into low-Earth orbit and is planning to launch [tens of thousands]() more. Despite eclipsing the total number of all operating satellites in Earth's orbit, Starlink isn't just struggling to cut even. Experts are concerned that trying to provide the entire globe with internet via satellites — instead of expanding coverage with cell towers where needed — could prove difficult, with speeds already [beginning to decrease]() in 2022. In other words, SpaceX will have to pump out untold numbers of satellites to keep up with quickly growing bandwidth demands. That's not all the bad news. According to *Bloomberg*, all major US airlines have rejected SpaceX's Starlink to provide internet service on flights, though an exact reason as to why remains unclear. Nonetheless, SpaceX has exceeded expectations when it comes to generating revenue over the years. Sales could grow from $4.7 billion a year ago to $15 billion this year, per *Bloomberg*'s sources. SpaceX may end up [spinning off its internet service]() with a potential IPO. But that's still years out, according to company officials. **More on Starlink:** *[SpaceX Announces Plans to Set 100 Starlink Satellites on Fire]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()