Elon Musk says Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian “will lose his job” after the executive reportedly took a swipe at him while explaining why Delta passed on Starlink.
Musk kept up the attack on Wednesday. He joked that a Delta flight is the perfect place to sandbox an artificial intelligence (AI) model because it has no internet.
What Bastian Reportedly Said About the Delta Starlink Decision
Bastian, a longtime Delta executive, has run the airline as CEO since 2016. He reportedly addressed the Starlink question at two internal staff events. The claims come from JonNYC, a pseudonymous X account known for leaking airline industry news. According to the account, he told employees, “We do not want to be with Elon Musk. Trust me.”
At an earlier event, he allegedly said Delta had tested Starlink but declined a deal. He then reportedly added, “it’s all true what they say about him.” However, JonNYC cautioned that he could not confirm the quotes were accurate, according to View from the Wing.
Instead of Starlink, Delta signed a deal with Amazon Leo in April. Amazon renamed the satellite internet service from Project Kuiper in 2025. According to the report, Leo will not enter beta testing until 2027.
Meanwhile, Starlink remains a core business for SpaceX, which recently completed Starship’s first orbital flight. The satellite network also sits at the center of SpaceX’s valuation. Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood, for example, recently called the $1.75 trillion SpaceX IPO a bargain.
A travel blogger shared the report about Bastian’s alleged remarks and Delta’s Starlink decision on X. Musk replied within hours.
Frequent Flyers Side With Musk as Delta Stock Holds Up
Musk then followed up with a jab at Delta’s current inflight Wi-Fi.
The joke also has an AI twist. Musk’s SpaceXAI unit recently released its Grok 4.7 model, which competes with the leading AI labs.
Several frequent flyers also sided with Musk on X, with some vowing to leave Delta for rivals with Starlink, such as United.
Wall Street, by contrast, shrugged off the spat. Delta shares closed 1% higher at $84.87 on Tuesday. The stock is also up 21.5% year to date.
Still, the dispute puts pressure on Amazon to deliver Leo on time. Until then, Delta faces rivals that already offer Starlink Wi-Fi on long-haul flights.