Elon Musk's SpaceX hikes Starlink internet costs due to rising inflation — new customers will now pay $710 upfront

• Elon Musk's SpaceX said it's increasing prices of its Starlink internet due to rising inflation.
• The kit is going up from $499 to $549 for deposit holders, and to $599 for new customers.

Elon Musk's SpaceX has increased the costs for all customers of its Starlink satellite internet service because of rising inflation.

SpaceX told customers on Tuesday in an email, which was posted on Twitter and reported by various media outlets, saying the price of Starlink kit, including a terminal, tripod, and WiFi router, will climb from $499 to $599 for new orders.

Customers who have already paid a $100 deposit for Starlink will now have to pay $549 for the kit — an increase of $50.

SpaceX also said in the email that it was hiking the price of the monthly subscription by $11, from $99 to $110.

The company said that "the sole purpose of these adjustments is to keep pace with rising inflation."

Customers can cancel their subscription to Starlink and send the kit back within a year for a partial refund of $200, SpaceX said in the email.

The changes mean that new customers will pay $710 upfront for Starlink, up from $600 since its beta test started in October 2020.

SpaceX didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside of normal working hours.

The email suggested this affected customers using or waiting for Starlink's standard service, rather than its faster premium service unveiled in February, which costs $2,500 for the kit, $500 for the deposit, and $500 for the monthly subscription.

Starlink has more than 2,100 satellites in orbit, with plans to launch 42,000 by mid-2021.

Musk tweeted in February 2021 that SpaceX "needs to pass through a deep chasm of negative cashflow over the next year or so to make Starlink financially viable."

SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell said last year that the company had reduced the price of each Starlink terminal from $3,000 to $1,500, and hoped that the cost would drop further to just a few hundred dollars.