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Elon Musk’s SpaceX empire hammers AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile shares
NBC News • • business
Key Points:
- Elon Musk’s announcement that SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile plans to become a major U.S. mobile carrier caused shares of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile to drop by 10-14%, wiping out over $50 billion in market value.
- The FCC approved the launch of 15,000 new satellites for Starlink Mobile, enabling a hybrid satellite-to-mobile and terrestrial network to provide nationwide coverage.
- Despite the market reaction, analysts and telecom companies expressed skepticism, noting that SpaceX would need substantial terrestrial infrastructure to compete with established carriers and deliver reliable service.
- Starlink, with over 12 million subscribers, is currently the only profitable part of SpaceX, which also serves as a major U.S. government contractor and has strong political ties, including support for former President Trump and Republicans.
- Telecom incumbents emphasized that spectrum acquisition alone does not guarantee nationwide coverage or competitive service, highlighting the significant challenges SpaceX faces to build a full wireless network.
