NEW DELHI: Elon Musk-run satellite internet service Starlink, which is searching for various routes to somehow enter the growing Indian internet market, generated $1.4 billion revenue last year.
This is up from $222 million in 2021 but $11 billion short of its original projections, according to the documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
“Revenue at Elon Musk’s satellite-internet business has jumped but has fallen short of plans,” the report said.
SpaceX’s satellite-internet division has outpaced rivals, generated surging revenue and played a pivotal role in Ukraine. However, “the business still has a long way to go before living up to Chief Executive Elon Musk’s ambitions,” the report added.
The company initially predicted that Starlink would make $12 billion and $7 billion in operating profit in 2022.
SpaceX also projected 20 million subscribers by the end of 2022 but it reached only over 1 million active subscribers by that time.
By May 2023, it had about 1.5 million users. SpaceX now controls 60 per cent share of the global launch business, as Musk aims to bring Starlink, which uses low-orbit satellites to provide broadband internet connections, to India.