Elon Musk took a crack at Delta Airlines this week over its alleged spotty internet access — the barb coming after Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian rejected Starlink over Amazon for Wi-Fi access.
The jab follows an Ookla report showing that Starlink-equipped airlines like United and Alaska lead the industry with over 90 percent consistency and speeds above 100 Mbps.
“Excited to announce that all super intelligence organizations have now jointly agreed to the ultimate in AI/SI safety: Moving all testing to Delta Airlines flights, where accessing the Internet is utterly impossible!” Musk posted on X.
Excited to announce that all super intelligence organizations have now jointly agreed to the ultimate in AI/SI safety:
Moving all testing to Delta Airlines flights, where accessing the Internet is utterly impossible!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 8, 2026
“The consistency and download speed performance results of Starlink’s IFC are game changing. Sometimes when wireless networks experience rapid growth, the increased number of users and larger volume of data traffic can result in slower speeds for everyone. This has not been the case for Starlink,” the Ookla report said.
Ookla says @Starlink has been a game-changer for inflight Wi-Fi speeds. Their new report ranks which airline has the fastest Wi-Fi:
“Starlink stood out for its speed. Of over 50 airlines evaluated, the eight airlines that exceeded 100 Mbps median download speed and half of those clocking over 300 Mbps in 2H 2025 were served by Starlink. No other IFC provider approached triple-digit speeds. Conversely, no airline with Starlink was below 100 Mbps median download speed.
The consistency and download speed performance results of Starlink’s IFC are game changing. Sometimes when wireless networks experience rapid growth, the increased number of users and larger volume of data traffic can result in slower speeds for everyone. This has not been the case for Starlink.”
It’s pretty clear at this point that airlines not adopting Starlink are going to be at a pretty big disadvantage compared with the airlines that do. In some cases, we’re already seeing passengers specifically searching for flights with Starlink Wi-Fi.
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) April 29, 2026
“It’s pretty clear at this point that airlines not adopting Starlink are going to be at a pretty big disadvantage compared with the airlines that do,” tech commentator Sawyer Merritt noted in the post above. “In some cases, we’re already seeing passengers specifically searching for flights with Starlink Wi-Fi.”
On that note, American Airlines just announced plans to equip its entire fleet of more than 1,000 aircraft with SpaceX’s Starlink internet, beginning in 2027.
JUST IN: American Airlines announces plans to equip its entire fleet of more than 1,000 mainline aircraft with SpaceX’s Starlink internet, beginning in 2027.
— Polymarket (@Polymarket) October 8, 2026
Bastion appeared to take a swing at Musk in the process, reportedly saying, “We do not want to be with Elon Musk. Trust me. If you know his reputation, it’s all true what they say about him.”
The airline’s concern was reportedly that Starlink would not allow its system to be gated by Delta’s Sync portal.
“Not exactly. SpaceX requires that there be no annoying ‘portal’ to use Starlink. Starlink WiFi must just work effortlessly every time, as though you were at home,” Musk countered on X. “Delta wanted to make it painful, difficult and expensive for their customers. Hard to see how that is a winning strategy.”
Not exactly. SpaceX requires that there be no annoying “portal” to use Starlink.
Starlink WiFi must just work effortlessly every time, as though you were at home.
Delta wanted to make it painful, difficult and expensive for their customers. Hard to see how that is a winning strategy.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 13, 2026
Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:
@Chesschick01 It’s foolproof 🤣🤣
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 8, 2026
@elonmusk How about you buy Delta? https://t.co/HZGh8Thmj1
— SandMan – Bag It! (@ProTrainRocks) October 8, 2026
@elonmusk Delta ceo is the most prideful guy
Ruins the customer experience for millions of people because of his FeELiNgS
— Aris (@arisinvestor) October 8, 2026
@elonmusk Delta will cave but probably not until a good bit of irreversible damage is done.
— Brad Feazell (@BradFeazell) October 8, 2026
The most aggressive Starlink Aviation sales pitch ever posted 🤣
— Kekius Maximus (@Kekius_Sage) October 8, 2026
😂
Posting on a Delta flight: https://t.co/fCetOfNnSu— Natalie F Danelishen (@Chesschick01) October 8, 2026
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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