If you’ve managed to go through the last couple of years without hearing about Elon Musk’s endeavors then well done, you must be a hermit. From disrupting the traditional combustion engine market to researching new ways to travel at high speeds in vacuum tunnels underground, he’s really pushing limits in ways we’ve never seen before. SpaceX is also another venture that he hopes will eventually make space travel a common occurrence for our race, enabling us to not only travel but also eventually inhabit another planet.

The Opportunity

SpaceX aims to make this a possibility using reusable rockets. Space rockets in the past have only had the capabilities to make one journey, which of course is an extremely costly investment for the organization creating them. With the new rockets that SpaceX has developed, they will be able to dock at different locations and eventually land upright back on earth, ready to be refueled for their next journey. The rockets have been through test flights and are landing regularly on their own, but Musk has realized this technology has uses in other markets too.

2024?

Elon Musk has suggested that by 2024, he could provide competition to the existing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) by launching thousands of satellites into orbit and offering internet to everyone around the world. Currently Musk’s ventures are hemorrhaging huge amounts of cash and by entering the ISP market; he could find a quick way to generate huge revenues very quickly. Especially since it would be the first time internet would be available to some places on the planet, it presents widely untapped market and help to secure the futures of his other businesses.

Could it actually happen?

The cost of entry into the satellite market is of course astronomically high, but there’s synergies to benefit from as SpaceX has footed much of this bill already. The traditional method that ISPs use of digging up the ground and laying cables down isn’t exactly cheap either. Technology is progressing and much of the developed world is undergoing the process of replacing old copper cables with fiber optic to receive much higher internet speeds. The race is also on to find the winning 5G concept that will improve the speed that cellular data is transferred too. It’s clear to see the benefit that Musk’s potential ISP could offer, wiping out this terrestrial infrastructure and flying it up into orbit so that it can be accessed by any device, anywhere.

We will have to wait and see…

The real question for Musk – how much of the market can he really grab? Most people in the developed world already have access to the internet and the majority are probably quite satisfied with their offering. They can offer an internet connection to those in countries that might not have access before, but will they be able to afford it? Another challenge for Musk will be one that all of his ventures still face: making it profitable. The technology is so expensive to develop, how long will it take to start making money and not be another drain on capital resources?

Musk has some serious backing from investors and the share price of his businesses continue to defy all odds, but will the market remain patient enough for Musk to launch his ISP? Only time will tell.