SpaceXAI is offering a 50% discount on Starlink residential service to people living near its two data centers in Memphis, Tennessee, as the company faces mounting pressure from local residents. According to a post on X from SpaceXAI Memphis, roughly 2,000 members of the greater Memphis and Southaven, Mississippi, area have signed up for the discounted service since late June.
In addition to the price cut, the company said it is waiving the upfront hardware cost for the newly launched Starlink V5 rental kit across all plans. That change eliminates as much as EUR 300 in one-time costs for new users.
Standard Starlink residential plans come in three tiers: 100 Mbps for EUR 47 a month, 200 Mbps for EUR 73 a month, and a Max plan for EUR 112 a month. With the discount, eligible residents pay EUR 24, EUR 37, or EUR 56, respectively. The lowest tier undercuts pricing from providers such as AT&T and Xfinity, which often start between EUR 30 and EUR 34 per month. Those competitors, however, offer fiber-based connections with speeds up to 300 Mbps, meaning subscribers who switch could see slower speeds.
Community Backlash Over Unpermitted Power Generation
Critics argue the offer is intended to build goodwill with neighbors as the data centers draw scrutiny for deploying unpermitted turbines to generate electricity. Amanda Garcia, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, said residents want more than cheaper internet.
“Communities in Memphis and North Mississippi aren’t asking for discounted internet service,” Garcia said. “They’re asking xAI to shut down its illegal, unpermitted power plant that continues to pump out staggering amounts of harmful pollution, including smog-forming nitrogen oxides, fine particulate matter, and hazardous chemicals like formaldehyde.”
SpaceXAI has pledged to remove all 69 of its unpermitted generators, but says it will do so over the course of one year as its 1.2 GW power plant comes online to replace them.
Reception Among Local Residents
Some users on the r/memphis subreddit called the promotion a strong option for parts of Memphis and Southaven that still lack fiber access, noting it could serve as a reliable backup connection. Several commenters also pointed to steep fees from other providers that push monthly costs well above EUR 34, making the EUR 24 rate for the 100 Mbps plan appealing. SpaceXAI is offering the same discount in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, where SpaceX plans to build a new spaceport.
Although the company framed the 2,000 sign-ups as a milestone, the figure remains small relative to the region. The latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates put Memphis at more than 600,000 people and over 250,000 households, meaning the new subscribers account for less than 1% of the city’s homes. SpaceXAI’s most recent earnings report lists more than 12 million total subscribers.
Source
Image: tomshardware.com
