PARIS – Elon Musk's SpaceX is no longer absorbing the cost of the Starlink antennas that it sells with its satellite internet service, a company executive said on Wednesday, a key step to the company improving its profitability.
"We were subsidizing terminals but we've been iterating on our terminal production so much that we're no longer subsidizing terminals, which is a good place to be," Jonathan Hofeller, SpaceX vice president of Starlink and commercial sales, said during a panel at the World Satellite Business Week conference.
SpaceX sells consumer Starlink antennas, also known as user terminals, for $599 each.
For more demanding Starlink customers – such as mobile, maritime, or aviation users – SpaceX sells antennas with its service in a range from $2,500 to $150,000 each.
When SpaceX first began selling its Starlink service, company leadership said the terminals cost about $3,000 each to manufacture.
Persons:
PARIS – Elon, Jonathan Hofeller
Organizations:
SpaceX