Elon Musk Finally Pays $10M to Shout About Space Stuff Like Normal Companies
KEY POINTS
- •SpaceX ran its first Super Bowl ad on February 8, 2026, promoting Starlink satellite internet.
- •The ad featured Arthur C. Clarke’s speech alongside footage of Falcon 9 and Starship boosters.
- •This move coincides with Tesla’s 2024 marketing layoffs and SpaceX’s planned $1.5 trillion IPO and AI startup merger.
On February 8, 2026, SpaceX decided to grace the Super Bowl with its first-ever ad, flogging its Starlink internet service to 155 countries and 9 million customers via a $10 million 30-second slot. This marked a seismic advertising shift from Elon Musk’s proud tradition of slurping public attention for free. The spot featured iconic science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke's speech over clips of their still-too-cool-to-resort-to-ads Falcon 9 and Starship boosters making dramatic returns to Earth. Meanwhile, Tesla—famously ditching its entire marketing team in 2024 layoffs—watched as SpaceX prepared for a potential $1.5 trillion IPO and a merger with Musk’s AI startup xAI. Space travel meets TV commercials in what might be the richest version of desperation ever broadcast.
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Musk’s rocket company finally dropped $10M on ads because shouting on Twitter wasn’t enough publicity for reaching just 9 million people worldwide. Advertising: humans’ last resort after forced charisma runs out.
SpaceX running a Super Bowl ad feels like your kid hiring a billboard to announce they're the favorite—inevitably both sad and pricey.
Starlink’s $10 million ad buys the fantasy of fast internet everywhere while reminding us Musk still hates spending money unless it’s on rockets or tweets.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 2/9/2026 | Author: Tom Carter
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