President Donald Trump's FCC Chair Brendan Carr has a message for anyone thinking about betting against Elon Musk: don't. In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Carr threw his support behind Musk's SpaceX and its Starlink satellite internet service, warning that critics have lost "a lot of money" trying to bet against the billionaire.
"I would be very hesitant betting against Elon Musk," Carr said, according to Reuters' David Shepardson. He noted that many have tried and failed, losing significant sums. Carr also pointed out that Musk isn't someone who spends money acquiring things—he invests in building them. "To see this level of investment by SpaceX/Starlink in spectrum," Carr said, shows the company's confidence in "direct-to-cell" and other technologies SpaceX is developing.
The comments came as the FCC approved the sale of EchoStar Corp's (EchoStar (SATS)) $40 billion spectrum to SpaceX and AT&T Inc. (AT&T (T)). The deal gives SpaceX more spectrum to expand Starlink's capabilities, including direct-to-cell services that could compete with traditional mobile networks.
But not everyone is cheering. SpaceX's upcoming IPO is facing pushback from pension leaders and comptrollers in California and New York. They've criticized what they call a "management-favorable" structure for the IPO and flagged Musk's CEO compensation packages from both SpaceX and Tesla Inc. (Tesla (TSLA)), warning that the two companies could end up competing against each other.
Meanwhile, in the satellite internet space race, Delta Air Lines Inc. (Delta (DAL)) announced it's partnering with Amazon.com Inc.'s (Amazon (AMZN)) Leo satellite internet service—a blow to Starlink. Musk claimed SpaceX couldn't reach an agreement because Delta insisted on providing Starlink access through its Delta Sync portal, which Musk refused. He added that SpaceX "deliberately" entered into less lucrative deals with other airlines to expand Starlink's reach. Delta fired back, saying Starlink could have been offered on its Sync portal if SpaceX had agreed.
For retail investors, the message from Carr is clear: Musk's track record in space and telecom is not one to bet against. With the FCC's backing and a massive spectrum deal in hand, Starlink is positioning itself as a major player in both satellite internet and direct-to-cell services. But the IPO drama and the Delta snub show that even Musk faces headwinds.
