Starlink Surges But Still Isn’t Meeting SpaceX’s Goals, Documents Show

SpaceX’s satellite-internet division has outpaced rivals and generated surging revenue, but it hasn't lived up to Elon Musk’s ambitions. Starlink reported $1.4 billion in revenue for 2022—up from $222 million in 2021. However, the company had predicted the business would be bigger by now: a 2015 presentation SpaceX used to raise money from investors projected that Starlink would generate almost $12 billion in revenue and $7 billion in operating profit in 2022. Starlink is key for Musk's plans to send humans to Mars. Global spending on high-speed internet is orders of magnitude bigger than outlays on rocket launches, and he needs a cash cow to help pay for technology that could make interplanetary missions possible. Starlink hasn’t signed up customers as quickly as SpaceX had hoped.