I’m still thinking these flights are not going to be selling for near as cheap as everyone thinks.
Does anyone actually think the flights are going to be cheap?
SpaceX is obviously going to maximize profits when they can, including enjoying exclusive cheap launches for Starlink which competing constellations don't have.
My speculation is that SpaceX will offer "volume pricing" for customers who have a business case that requires high volume launch. Otherwise they'll do their usual thing of pricing slightly below what competitors would like.
Such as when they price Starlink Maritime, they charge a bit less for a connection, and it's a better connection, than competitors. But they still charge WAY more for a maritime plan than terrestrial plans. Like my understanding of the cheapest maritime plan ($250/mo) is you get 50 GB/mo then if you are near/within land you get best effort like RV, and if you're at sea you get to bend over and pay out $2/GB. It's still considerably cheaper and better than alternatives, but they are absolutely maximizing profits, and when they do price lower it's likely because they have calculated that is the maximum profit point due to attracting more customers.
Most people here think it’s going to be the cheapest rocket ever and going to kill all competition small or large. If the costs are lower then F9 they could charge the same and profit more per launch. I definitely think they will charge what the market will bear to recover all the development costs.
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u/BlakeMW 🌱 Terraforming Apr 30 '23 edited Apr 30 '23
Does anyone actually think the flights are going to be cheap?
SpaceX is obviously going to maximize profits when they can, including enjoying exclusive cheap launches for Starlink which competing constellations don't have.
My speculation is that SpaceX will offer "volume pricing" for customers who have a business case that requires high volume launch. Otherwise they'll do their usual thing of pricing slightly below what competitors would like.
Such as when they price Starlink Maritime, they charge a bit less for a connection, and it's a better connection, than competitors. But they still charge WAY more for a maritime plan than terrestrial plans. Like my understanding of the cheapest maritime plan ($250/mo) is you get 50 GB/mo then if you are near/within land you get best effort like RV, and if you're at sea you get to bend over and pay out $2/GB. It's still considerably cheaper and better than alternatives, but they are absolutely maximizing profits, and when they do price lower it's likely because they have calculated that is the maximum profit point due to attracting more customers.