Elon Musk has a new target: Delta Air Lines. This week he said Delta will lose customers because it does not offer Starlink Wi-Fi, then predicted its CEO will lose his job. Here is what happened, and what each side says.
It started on Monday, September 28, when author John LeFevre posted on X that United Airlines had put Starlink on more than 600 planes, about 36% of its fleet, while Delta had none, TheStreet reported. Musk replied: “Delta will lose a lot of customers.” United plans to have its whole fleet connected by the end of 2027, TravelPulse reported.
On Tuesday, posts on X shared remarks attributed to Delta CEO Ed Bastian, who allegedly told staff the airline did not want to work with Musk. The remarks are unverified, Forbes reported. Musk replied that Bastian “will lose his job over this”. AFP noted there is no sign Bastian’s job is at risk, and that Musk gave no reason. Musk also joked that the best way to sandbox an AI is to put it on a Delta flight, Yahoo Finance reported.
Delta’s side of the story
Delta chose Amazon’s Leo satellite internet service in March for 500 planes, with installs starting in 2028. Bastian told Bloomberg that Amazon offers more than satellite technology, and a much lower price, as Forbes reported. Delta says Leo gives passengers more features at a lower price.
Musk says the real reason is a login portal. In May he claimed Delta wanted passengers to sign in through its own Delta Sync portal, and that SpaceX refuses to require one. Delta pushed back and called that claim inaccurate, but gave no more detail, Deseret News reported. Neither side has published contract details, so the competing explanations cannot be tested.
There is one caveat for the debate. Amazon’s Leo service has not launched yet and has not been tested at scale, so Delta passengers will wait until 2028 to see how it compares. In the meantime, rival airlines are already using the fight to court Delta customers.
