TRENDING: PlayStation Network outage: PSN servers offline for 17 hours and counting

Elon Musk's 'free' Starlink service for Hurricane Helene victims could be predatory

SpaceX's Starlink service was touted as free for 30 days for people affected by Hurricane Helene, but it still appears to cost nearly $400.

Elon Musk's 'free' Starlink service for Hurricane Helene victims could be predatory
Comment IconFacebook IconX IconReddit Icon
Tech and Science Editor
Published
2 minutes & 30 seconds read time

SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced on X that communities hit by the devastating Hurricane Helene were able to get Starlink "without need for payment," or according to SpaceX's own statement, "Starlink is now free for 30 days".

However, it doesn't appear to be as simple as that as "free" comes with a few undisclosed caveats that were unfurled by The Register, which published a report detailing users attempting to sign up for Starlink in Helene disaster-stricken zones were being prompted for a $350 payment for the Starlink terminal. SpaceX discounted the terminals for users within the affected areas down to $299, which, after shipping and taxes, lands a Hurricane Helen victim attempting to sign up to Starlink with a bill approximating $400.

Starlink explains on its help page that qualifying Hurricane Helene victims will receive 30 days of free Starlink internet access, and after those 30 days, the user will be moved to a $120-a-month subscription. As for existing Starlink customers who wish to take advantage of the free 30 days of Starlink are required to lodge a support ticket with that will then be evaluated by Starlink and if qualifying, issue a waiver for an upcoming monthly payment.

Kinney Baughman, a philosophy professor and IT pro, and resident of Boone, North Carolina spoke to The Register and said Musk's offer of free Starlink is actually "a crafty, bait and switch ... meant to take advantage of people instead of helping them."

"If UPS can drive a truck to your house [to deliver the Starlink receiver], you're not in that bad of shape," Baughman told the publication. Baughman noted that Starlink would be useful in specific scenarios such as having broken fiber.

"There may be isolated scenarios when what [Musk] is offering will be a service," Baughman said. "But we're talking about cases where someone's way up a holler, doesn't have access to cell service, and where the flooding has broken their fiber. You're looking at months before you get service. In that case you might want to think about [Starlink]."

"Assuming someone can get over the one or two, if not more, bridges that are down and physically get their hands on the device, you still need electricity to run the thing," Baughman noted. "Thousands of people are out of power still and hundreds if not thousands of those don't have a generator."

"When someone comes along and says I'm going to give you free internet, people start going nuts," Baughman said. "Starlink is pulling on the heart strings of people overwhelmed by disaster."

It appears SpaceX is preying on the desperation of residents in North Carolina, or at the very least using Hurricane Helene and the offer of free Starlink as positive marketing for the brand. Ultimately, I believe the problem isn't in the offer of free Starlink, as I believe everyone would agree that is a noble thing to do for people who are struggling; I believe the problem is with Starlink and Elon Musk's vague wording in their announcements and lack of explanations.

Photo of the SABRENT 8TB Rocket 4 PLUS NVMe 4.0 Gen4 PCIe M.2 Internal SSD
Best Deals: SABRENT 8TB Rocket 4 PLUS NVMe 4.0 Gen4 PCIe M.2 Internal SSD
Country flag Today 7 days ago 30 days ago
$1148.98 USD -
Buy
$1199.99 USD $499.99 USD
Buy
$1499.99 CAD $1499.99 CAD
Buy
£1248.18 £1259.47
Buy
$1148.98 USD -
Buy
* Prices last scanned on 2/7/2025 at 9:05 am CST - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission from any sales.

Tech and Science Editor

Email IconX IconLinkedIn Icon

Jak joined the TweakTown team in 2017 and has since reviewed 100s of new tech products and kept us informed daily on the latest science, space, and artificial intelligence news. Jak's love for science, space, and technology, and, more specifically, PC gaming, began at 10 years old. It was the day his dad showed him how to play Age of Empires on an old Compaq PC. Ever since that day, Jak fell in love with games and the progression of the technology industry in all its forms.

Related Topics

Newsletter Subscription