Key facts
- Delta CEO Ed Bastian denied a personal feud with Elon Musk.
- Bastian stated he drives a Tesla and is a fan of Musk's Starlink.
- The apparent conflict began when Delta chose Amazon's Leo over SpaceX's Starlink for satellite internet.
- Musk had previously criticized Delta's internet choice and reposted unconfirmed quotes attributed to Bastian.
- Musk had also exchanged public jabs with Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary over Starlink installation.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian has stated that he does not have a public feud with Elon Musk, despite recent criticisms from the Tesla CEO on the social media platform X. Bastian described the situation as "no tit-for-tat, as far as I'm concerned" during a CNBC interview.
Bastian expressed his admiration for Musk's work, saying, "I'm a big fan of Starlink. I'm a fan of what Elon does. I drive a Tesla. OK? So there's nothing. All this nonsense about being personal is not true at all."
The apparent conflict began in March when Delta selected Amazon's Leo as its satellite internet provider over SpaceX's Starlink. At the time, Musk posted a warning on X, stating that "Delta doesn't realize how much this will affect them."
Musk escalated his criticism of Bastian and Delta in the weeks prior to the interview, after an aviation-focused X account, JonNYC, shared unconfirmed quotes attributed to Bastian, including one that said, "We do not want to be with Elon Musk. Trust me."