Elon Musk Blames Indian Oligarchs for Starlink Delays. What It Means for SpaceX Stock.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets have carried thousands of Starlink satellites into orbit over the years. (Joel Kowsky/NASA via Getty Images)

Key Points

• SpaceX stock fell early Thursday as investors considered the expansion of its Starlink satellite broadband service in India.
• Elon Musk blamed certain oligarchs in India for trying to maintain a monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people.
• Starlink is still waiting for its Indian satellite spectrum, which represents a potential growth headwind for investors.

SpaceX stock was slipping early Thursday as investors pondered Starlink expansion in India.

Shares of Elon Musk’s rocket and AI company were down 0.1% at $167.43, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively.

The move follows a Wednesday tweet from Musk blaming “certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people.”

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Musk is referring to interference from local internet providers such as Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, who he believes are making it difficult to launch Starlink in the country.

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Starlink is SpaceX’s space-based broadband operating in more than 160 countries. It ended the second quarter with about 12 million subscribers.

Operations, however, require wireless spectrum to beam signals. Just as two radio stations in the same area can’t broadcast on the same frequency, wireless data providers need their own spectrum to send information. Starlink is still waiting for its Indian satellite spectrum.

For investors, regulatory delays or competitive actions from rival internet providers represent a potential headwind to growth.

Starlink is expected to generate about $4.8 billion in third-quarter revenue, up from $4.3 billion in the second quarter.

“Exiting September, global consumer subscriber count is estimated to be 13.5 million with greater than 370,000 net additions in the month,” wrote Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu in a recent report. “North America led with 5.5 million subscribers, representing 41% of mix, and added 126,000 subs during the month.”

For now, there is plenty of growth without India.

Investors will get a more accurate subscriber count and Starlink update when SpaceX reports third-quarter earnings in a few weeks. SpaceX’s quarterly artificial intelligence revenue are expected to top Starlink’s for the first time.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@barrons.com.

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