Elon Musk has hit back at Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian over the airline's decision to reject Starlink. Reports claimed Bastian cited Musk's reputation while explaining the decision. Musk said on X that Bastian would lose his job over the decision. The remarks have escalated a dispute that began after Delta chose Amazon Leo instead of Starlink for its in-flight Wi-Fi.
The controversy began after aviation reporter JonNYC shared details of an alleged comment by Bastian at a company event. According to the report, Bastian told employees that Delta did not want to work with Musk. He had also reportedly said at an earlier event that the airline had tested Starlink but decided against partnering with Musk because of his reputation.
"If you know his reputation, it's all true what they say about him," Bastian allegedly said,
Delta
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) September 29, 2026
from a company event:
I'm putting the below in quotes as this is how it was sent to me.
HOWEVER, I do *NOT* know if the quotes within the quotes below are accurate.
And, the first factoid there ("DL will make about 70% of industry profits with about 20% market share")…
The remarks quickly drew Musk's attention. Responding to a post by writer Gary Leff, Musk said Bastian would lose his job over the decision.
See the tweet here:
He will lose his job over this
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 30, 2026
He also took another swipe at Delta's connectivity plans, joking that putting an AI system on a Delta flight would be a good way to isolate it because of the lack of Starlink connectivity.
Best way to sandbox an AI is to put it on a Delta flight – it will have no chance of accessing the Internet!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 30, 2026
Musk has repeatedly criticised Delta for choosing Amazon Leo instead of Starlink. A day earlier, he warned that the airline could lose a significant number of customers because of the decision.
Delta will lose a lot of customers
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 29, 2026
The dispute goes back to March, when Delta announced a multi-year agreement with Amazon to introduce Leo-powered satellite Wi-Fi on its aircraft. The initial rollout is planned for 500 planes beginning in 2028. Delta's decision came as Starlink has expanded rapidly across the airline industry. United Airlines, among others, has already equipped hundreds of aircraft with Starlink, making the technology an increasingly prominent part of the in-flight Wi-Fi market.
Musk has argued that Delta could fall behind rivals by choosing Amazon Leo, while Delta has defended its decision by pointing to its broader relationship with Amazon.
Delta already relies heavily on Amazon Web Services, with nearly 600 applications migrated to the cloud since 2020. The airline has said the Leo partnership will allow it to combine satellite connectivity with Amazon's wider technology and entertainment ecosystem.
Amazon says Leo will offer high-speed, low-latency internet on Delta flights, with the service expected to be free for SkyMiles members. The initial installation of the technology is scheduled to begin in 2028.
The choice has nevertheless attracted criticism because Amazon Leo is still building out its satellite network and has yet to reach the scale of Starlink. Recent reports indicate that Amazon's constellation remains far smaller than Musk's network, although Amazon has been accelerating launches and expanding its launch partnerships.
Delta, however, has maintained that its agreement with Amazon is about more than satellite internet. The airline has highlighted Amazon's cloud infrastructure, retailing capabilities, Prime Video, gaming technology and other services as potential benefits for passengers.
