Elon Musk's SpaceX has a plan to deploy up to 30,000 new satellites - and Morgan Stanley says it could cost as much as $60 billion
- Elon Musk's SpaceX reportedly has plans to launch 30,000 more Starlink internet satellites - and Morgan Stanley says the initiative could cost as much as $60 billion.
- The bank's analysis assumes a cost of $1 million to build each satellite and about $50 million for every 60 satellites launched.
- Morgan Stanley also estimates the cost to replacement the satellites, which happens about every five years, would equate to around $12 billion in annual capital expenditures.
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Elon Musk's SpaceX has reportedly asked the International Telecommunication Union if it can launch an additional 30,000 Starlink internet satellites - and Morgan Stanley says the plan could cost as much as $60 billion.
The firm's analysis assumes each satellite will cost about $1 million to build and about $50 million to launch every 60.
"SpaceX is accelerating plans to deploy and commercialize satellite broadband with significant implications for capital demands, valuation ... and potential strategic implications for Tesla," Morgan Stanley wrote in a note to clients on Friday.
The bank continued: "We believe near-term timeline for Starlink will impact investor sentiment across the broader space economy."
Morgan Stanley also estimates the cost to replace the satellites every five years will be around $12 billion in annual capital expenditures.
SpaceX's new proposal would bring the total plan for Starlink to 42,000 satellites. That's about 20 times the number of operational satellites today and almost five times the total of all spacecrafts launched since 1957, according to an analysis by Business Insider.