As Elon Musk likes to do whenever disaster hits somewhere in the world, Hurricane Helene was another opportunity to show off his generosity and make himself part of the news. This time, Musk made headlines with a promise that SpaceX Starlink would be free for 30 days to help in places where fiber and cellular infrastructure might have been knocked offline. More than 200 people have been identified as dead in the disaster.
But the catch is that it’s really not free at all. It really looks like not much more than a glorified new-customer promotion.
For one, anyone interested in taking up the offer still has to pay approximately $400 for the dish itself (including shipping and tax) and they’re getting automatically rolled into a $120 per-month contract when the free month ends.
I get it.
The actual offer is: “Starlink users will get free internet” but it’s been put forward as: “everyone gets free Starlink”
It’s the equivalent of corporations changing their Facebook profile picture to a rainbow. It basically costs then nothing, especially if affected areas have no electricity.