As Elon Musk likes to do whenever disaster hits somewhere in the world, Hurricane Helene was another opportunity to show off his generosity and make himself part of the news. This time, Musk made headlines with a promise that SpaceX Starlink would be free for 30 days to help in places where fiber and cellular infrastructure might have been knocked offline. More than 200 people have been identified as dead in the disaster.
But the catch is that it’s really not free at all. It really looks like not much more than a glorified new-customer promotion.
For one, anyone interested in taking up the offer still has to pay approximately $400 for the dish itself (including shipping and tax) and they’re getting automatically rolled into a $120 per-month contract when the free month ends.
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Company offers free service in natural disaster areas.
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Internet villifies company for offering free service but not giving away $400 in free hardware to every person as well.
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Internet wonders why most companies don’t do anything.
Free stuff!
Well, not free, $400.
Why are you not grateful?
You know those free streaming service trials where you hand them your credit card info, and they give 30 days to forget to cancel it? It’s like that, but with an essential communications service instead of entertainment, 800% the price, advertised to disadvantaged/temporarily-impoverished families, and asking for 5 months worth of commitments in an upfront hardware cost.
So, yeah—excuse me for thinking Elon Musk is a shitbag profiting off of others’ misfortune while cosplaying as a philanthropist. You know what would be a quarter the price and likely achieve the same thing? Waiting a week and paying AT&T $90 for 100 GB of prepaid data and using my phone as a hotspot.
Ah, a man-made climate change disaster. Another perfect opportunity for me, the wealthiest person and major contributor to emissions, to advertise. Free* internet, everyone!
1a. Company quietly signs you up for a recurring 120 dollar monthly fee when you are too otherwise distracted to notice.
Do you think any of the people in need of free internet right now just had that $400 hardware hanging around already? Otherwise I don’t think the ‘free’ part matters much.
No, but expecting a company to provide $400 in free equipment is also ridiculous. They’re offering free service, which is what they said they were, they never claimed anything more.
But the anti-Musk circlejerk doesn’t care about anything other than complaining about anything related to him, so this response is 100% expected.
If they were providing free hardware as well you all would just complain about something else instead.
Tell me, do you prefer the taste of musks balls fresh out of the shower, or do you like them marinated for a few days?
No, but expecting a company to provide $400 in free equipment is also ridiculous.
It’s not ridiculous at all. Just like their “free” service, which is only free if you cancel the contract, it can be “free” hardware as long as you return it.
In fact, that’s how it generally works with ISPs and the modem they provide you with when you sign up for their service.
In fact, that’s how it generally works with ISPs and the modem they provide you with when you sign up for their service.
Your Cable/DSL modem isn’t a $400 piece of equipment, and probably sold at a loss at this point given the tech is still new. At best those ISP modems are worth maybe $100, and that’s the marked up purchase price.
Even then, the ISPs never give it to you for free, they charge you a monthly rental fee for it unless you bring your own.
Your Cable/DSL modem isn’t a $400 piece of equipment
So what? If they don’t give it back, they owe $400.
Even then, the ISPs never give it to you for free, they charge you a monthly rental fee for it unless you bring your own.
Bullshit. Neither the local ISP I am using now nor shitty Spectrum when I had it charged me a dime. When we switched to the local ISP, Spectrum just wanted it back. The local ISP has a hell of a lot less money than any company Musk owns, and yet they can somehow handle giving out their equipment to tens of thousands of customers for free until they are returned.
SpaceX isn’t selling the dishes at a loss anymore. That was a a generation or 2 ago. I don’t know if they make a profit or they’ve just met costs though.
Bullshit. Neither the local ISP I am using now nor shitty Spectrum when I had it charged me a dime. When we switched to the local ISP, Spectrum just wanted it back.
And yet companies like Comcast charge $5+ per month to rent their shitty modem, and will even charge customers who never had a rental modem at all. Your area isn’t indicative of the entire country.
Spectrum literally serves the entire country.
If Spectrum can do it, so can Musk.
I’m just astounded you are defending marketing this deceptive.
“Free as long as you don’t count the $400 initial cost and also you will be forced to pay $120 a month if you forget to go through all the hoops we will force you to go through in order to cancel in 30 days” is not the charitable donation you seem to think it is.
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He’s in dire need of an aneurysm.
Sounds about right. Rich people don’t get rich by giving away hand outs. They get rich by being assholes.
that thumbnail pic makes it look like musk is wearing a nazi-esque (Hugo Boss?) uniform, and it’s apt
Now it makes me think that he was mad. He didn’t get to build the sub and save those kids because he was going to charge them to get in… Or make them sign away their rights or something.
Is any other company doing literally anything? Hughesnet? Viasat?
I love to hate on Musk but this might be a stretch.
Go fuck yourself. Muskrat doesn’t need his boots polished.
There isn’t anything in the world he needs more. Every second of every day.
Starlink isn’t “doing literally anything” either. Giving victims a coupon code that requires them to commit to paying for a service they never wanted isn’t helping.
Doing nothing would be better than trying to scam victims into a $120/mth subscription.
Yes there’s a lot of other companies doing. Literally anything stupid question idiot
How many of those companies have hundreds of dollars in up front hardware costs that they don’t normally discount or just give away as a course of regular business (where that is already calculated into operating costs)?
I dunno, do you? Also who fucking cares? It’s not charity if you’re charging
The point isn’t that musk is the only one doing anything, the point is musk is one of the people trying to sneakily profit off the disaster.
Isnt the actual cost of the Starlink equipment well over the hardware cost? If people buy it and then return it when services come back up it’s not much of a profit.
What would be an acceptable donation? 2 free months? 4 months?
your questions are a clue about why other companies are not offering subscription discounts in response to a hurricane.
how many hello fresh boxes would be good for a hurricane? how many months subscription to chess.com? how many free sessions at a planet fitness of your choosing?
How about provide it free of charge, and without a monthly contract in place. Charge them for the hardware if they don’t return it after the free month.
I get it.
The actual offer is: “Starlink users will get free internet” but it’s been put forward as: “everyone gets free Starlink”
It’s the equivalent of corporations changing their Facebook profile picture to a rainbow. It basically costs then nothing, especially if affected areas have no electricity.
“The storm provides.” -Thunderclap
Is that the name of the bird from “the good dinosaur”? Idk why that movie was a flop was a great movie.
I think it hit people a little too hard, but it’s one of my favorite kid movies.
Yes.
Fucking hell - Verizon, Sprint and AT&T also, apparently have free Helene deals on offer! And Comcast (or whatever the hell they rebranded too) has six months and their nipple flaps at the ready!
Comcast (or whatever the hell they rebranded too)
Xfinity, although I prefer my head canon on which they rebranded to Crapcast
Corncast
Who the hell is Sprint?
I’ll admit that I haven’t lived in the US in more than a decade so some of the companies may be out of date - Sprint is/was a large phone carrier.
They are giving you shit because:
Sprint Corporation was an American telecommunications company. Before being acquired by T-Mobile US on April 1, 2020, it was the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United States, serving 54.3 million customers as of June 30, 2019. The company also offered wireless voice, messaging, and broadband services through its various subsidiaries under the Boost Mobile and Open Mobile brands and wholesale access to its wireless networks to mobile virtual network operators.
They were cool when they had push to talk walkie talkie function.
Fair enough - at least I didn’t put Telus, Rogers, Vodafone or Orange on that list. My brain wanted to… you’ve never known a righteous bitching like complaining about Telus.
Yeah, they sold out to The Man. That’s why I use MCI.
Its a soda drink
Melon Husk went from “I MUST be the one to save the world” to “pay up if you want to be saved”.
Melon Husk
Hahahahhaaa.
I am very proud of that name.
This has now been extended until end of year with a map of the areas covered
Holy shit that’s so accurate LMAO
I love this
Does anybody want a peanut?
Removed by mod
When your emergency disaster relief comes with a $400 price tag, you’ve experienced
⚫Dark MAGA⚫
So free like starlink instead of free like beer
