Elon Musk has become a divisive personality: Nobody questions his genius, but many have questioned his choices.
Most recently, the owner of X, the former Twitter, has put the future of that brand in serious doubt after he posted an antisemitic tweet on the struggling platform.
That was a bridge too far for several major advertisers. They'd probably been reluctant to support a platform that has few checks on users sharing conspiracy theories, hate speech, and other posts that they generally didn't want their brands associated with.
Advertisers leaving the platform include Walt Disney (DIS) -), Microsoft, IBM, Warner Bros. Discovery, Comcast and more. Musk, as you might imagine, did not handle the departures well.
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He addressed X's advertisers exercising their own right to free speech during an interview at The New York Times DealBook Summit.
In the enigmatic billionaire's typical style, he did not respond with humility to the advertiser boycott. Instead, he told them to "go f*** yourself" and blamed them for the potential demise of the social media platform.
"What the advertising boycott is going to do is it's going to kill the company," Musk said. "The whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company and we will document it in great detail. Let's see how Earth responds."
The situation has not, however, stopped Costco (COST) -) from quietly going into business with another brand owned by the Tesla CEO.
Image source: TheStreet
Costco begins selling Starlink
One of the challenging things about Musk is that while he seems to delight in courting controversy on X, he's also behind numerous companies with noble goals.
Tesla (TSLA) -) has greatly advanced the mission of replacing gasoline engines with electric vehicles and SpaceX has done the same when it comes to helping humans work toward leaving the planet.
Starlink, Musk's satellite internet brand, has brought internet to parts of the U.S. and the world that had lacked connectivity. The company has been essential in keeping Ukraine in contact with the rest of the world during Russia's unlawful attack on the country, and it's the only internet option for many Americans not served by traditional internet service providers.
Anyone can buy a Starlink receiver, and Costco has quietly started selling them on its website. In addition, Starlink has listed the warehouse club as an authorized reseller on its website.
Currently, Costco warehouses in the U.S. do not stock Starlink receivers. The chain is selling them only online.
Which Starlink product is being sold?
Currently, Costco is selling only the higher-end Starlink receiver, designed for businesses or people looking to get internet service on their boats or recreational vehicles. The warehouse club is offering the kit for $2,495 with two free months of service.
The Starlink website sells a home model where the hardware costs $599 and a monthly service plan costs $120. Starlink allows customers to stop and start service as they need and does not require a contract.
Costco's relationship with Starlink includes selling its products in its warehouses in Canada and Japan.
The warehouse club did not immediately return a request for comment.
While now seems like an odd time to go into business with Musk, Starlink has already been working with several major companies.
Both Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Line have installed the company's satellite internet across their fleets. In addition, the U.S. government has multiple contracts with the company, while Tesla has benefited from tax credits designed to get people to buy electric vehicles.
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