Published: October 21, 2026
StartupFeed Quick Take
- SpaceX revenue rose 161% to $14.6 Bn in the September quarter, from $5.6 Bn.
- Starlink has 13.6 million home customers across 174 markets, and India is not one of them.
- Both boards opened a SpaceX Tesla merger review on October 20, before Tesla’s annual meeting on December 3.
SpaceX earned $4.4 billion in the September quarter without selling one connection in India, where Starlink has waited 502 days to start.
SpaceX’s results statement shows revenue of $14.6 billion, up 161% from $5.6 billion a year earlier. The analyst consensus compiled by Bloomberg was about $12.7 billion. A year ago the same quarter ended in a $1.1 billion loss.
The swing to profit was $5.5 billion in twelve months. Adjusted EBITDA rose 306% to $8.8 billion, and income from operations reached $2.8 billion.
Connectivity, the segment that holds Starlink, grew revenue 69% in a year, and its income from operations grew 99%. Earnings per share came in at $0.35. SpaceX stock rose about 8% in extended trading.
| Measure | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $14.6 Bn | $5.6 Bn | Up 161% |
| Net income | $4.4 Bn | Loss of $1.1 Bn | Swing of $5.5 Bn |
| Adjusted EBITDA | $8.8 Bn | $2.2 Bn | Up 306% |
Starlink Earns the Profit and India Is Still Not a Market
Starlink ended September with 13.6 million home customers, after adding 1.6 million in three months, most of them in developed markets. Starlink Mobile crossed 22 million monthly users, up 37% from the June quarter.
Starlink now sells in 174 markets, with Vietnam and Uganda added during the quarter. India is not on that list.
New Delhi gave Starlink its telecom licence on June 6, 2025, and the space regulator IN-SPACe cleared its first constellation that July. Commercial service has still not started, 502 days later.
The Ministry of Communications said on October 8 that three satellite operators hold the same licence. Jio Satellite Communications and Eutelsat OneWeb hold the other two, and security checks are running for all three.
Spectrum comes after the security step, not before it. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Minister of State for Communications, named the hold-up plainly:
“Now the issue is pending with MHA for security clearance.”
Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Minister of State for Communications, Government of India. From his remarks at India Mobile Congress, October 8, 2026.
Starlink has already built 20 gateway sites in India. Lauren Dreyer, who runs Starlink’s business operations, spoke at India Mobile Congress on October 8. She said the network was built to Indian rules, and that Indian user data stays inside India.
India set 29 security conditions for satellite licensees on May 5, 2025. Two of them bite on Indian factories. At least 20% of the ground segment must be made in India within five years, with NavIC positioning due by 2029.
What the SpaceX Tesla Merger Review Changes for India
Musk told the results call on October 20 that each board had formed a special committee of independent directors. Tesla holds its annual meeting on December 3.
The two companies are already tied by money. Tesla put $2 billion into xAI, and that holding turned into SpaceX shares. SpaceX absorbed xAI in February 2026 and listed in June 2026.
Cash moves the other way too. SpaceX’s AI unit bought about $430 million of Tesla Megapacks last year, and $143 million of Cybertrucks.
Starlink’s Indian licence sits inside SpaceX, the company now under review. Indian investors who bought SpaceX stock after the June listing hold the same company. SpaceX also closed a $60 billion purchase of the coding startup Cursor during the quarter.
Launch Revenue Barely Moved While AI Did the Work
Launch brought in $1.77 billion, against $1.67 billion a year earlier. SpaceX flew 35 missions in the quarter, 12 for customers and 23 of its own.
The bigger engine is the Super Intelligence business. Nameplate compute capacity reached 1.7 gigawatts, up from 1.4 gigawatts in June. Cursor added $608 million of revenue between August 14 and September 30.
Capital spending was $19.6 billion in the quarter, and Connectivity gross margin was 55%, helped by about 3 points of one-time tariff refunds.
For Indian spacetech founders, the lesson sits in the launch line. Rocket revenue grew about 6% while total revenue grew 161%.
Tesla Reports Tonight With Deliveries Down 2%
Tesla reports its September quarter after the US market closes on October 21. That lands early on October 22 in India.
Tesla delivered 486,532 vehicles in the quarter and built 464,391. Deliveries fell 2% from a year earlier. Model 3 and Model Y made up 478,237 of them.
The gap between building and selling was 22,141 vehicles, the second quarter running in which Tesla sold down stock.
Energy storage deployed was 13.7 GWh, up from 12.5 GWh. Tesla has guided to more than $25 billion of capital spending in 2026. SpaceX spent $19.6 billion in the September quarter alone.
Tesla shares are down about 17% in 2026.
What this means for you: If you supply satellite ground hardware in India, or hold SpaceX stock, this review decides who owns Starlink’s Indian licence. Watch the MHA clearance and Tesla’s December 3 annual meeting, because both shape when Starlink can bill an Indian customer.
StartupFeed Insight
SpaceX has now shown it can earn $4.4 billion in a quarter with India switched off. That is the uncomfortable number for New Delhi. Starlink signed 1.6 million new home customers in three months while 20 Indian gateway sites sat idle. A merger review adds a second question on top of the first, because the file in front of the MHA belongs to a company whose owner may change. Watch the week after December 3. If the committees back a deal, expect the security file to restart rather than move, and expect Indian ground-segment suppliers to lose another quarter of orders.
By Saraswati Chaubey, Writer
Disclaimer: This article is for information only and is not investment advice. StartupFeed and its authors are not SEBI-registered investment advisors. Please speak to a SEBI-registered advisor before investing.
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