Is Starlink Going Public? Rumors Swirl As Elon Musk's SpaceX Unit Eyes Profitability

Elon Musk's Starlink low-latency, satellite internet service has made serious inroads and proved its utility in times of calamities and other geopolitical tensions. Starlink, a unit of SpaceX, has long been rumored to consider an initial public offering, with the billionaire having weighed in on the possibility in the past.

What Happened: Starlink could IPO in a year or two, a Tesla influencer going by the Twitter handle @Teslaconomics tweeted recently. The user shared Musk's tweet from Feb. 2021 in which he said, "Once we can predict cash flow reasonably well, Starlink will IPO."

The Twitter user noted that Starlink contributed $1 billion to SpaceX's revenue in 2022 and had its first quarter of positive cash flow in 2022 and will likely turn to a profit in 2023. Starlink now has over one million subscribers and it has launched over 3,500 satellites, the user said.

Talks of a potential Starlink IPO began to surface in early February when SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell reportedly told at the Commercial Space Transportation 2023 conference that Starlink would make money this year, having generated positive cash flow in a quarter last year.

See Also: How To Buy Starlink IPO Stock

Why It's Important: Musk first mentioned the possibility of a Starlink IPO in September 2020 in reply to a question by one of his Twitter followers. He stated that an IPO is likely several years into the future when revenue growth is smooth and predictable. The billionaire also said retail investors will get top priority in the eventuality of an IPO.

Analysts estimate that Starlink could be worth $100 billion when it goes public.

Starlink internet service is now available for residential, commercial, maritime, aviation and also for roaming customers. 

In August 2022, SpaceX and T-Mobile US, Inc. TMUS announced a collaboration to bring satellite-based connectivity to T-mobile users beginning in 2023. Starlink's second generation would be used for the purpose to broadcast directly to cell phones, Musk said then.

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