‘I drive a Tesla’: After Elon Musk said he’d lose his job, Delta CEO Ed Bastian says there’s ‘no tit for tat’ as airline unveils earnings miss

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said he isn’t feuding with Elon Musk, even after the SpaceX founder predicted he would lose his job.

“There’s no tit for tat as far as I’m concerned,” Bastian told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau on Squawk Box on Friday, when asked whether he passed on SpaceX’s Starlink Wi-Fi because he didn’t want to work with Musk.

“I’m a big fan of Starlink.

I drive a Tesla .” He added: “This nonsense about it being personal is not true at all.

The reality is, Delta is the global pioneer in launching free and fast Wi-Fi as the industry standard.” Asked about Musk’s post that he would lose his job, Bastian said, “I don’t pay any attention.” The first missed earnings report in two years The interview came as Delta missed Wall Street earnings estimates for the first time in two years and cut its 2026 profit forecast .

Jet fuel prices have surged since the Iran war started in February, and as a result, Delta’s adjusted fuel expense rose 62% from a year earlier to $4.1 billion in the September quarter.

Still, Delta posted record September-quarter revenue of $17.6 billion, up 16%, and a pre-tax profit of $1.5 billion, matching last year.

Premium ticket revenue rose 18% to $6.8 billion, and loyalty revenue grew 18%, putting American Express payments on track to exceed $9 billion for the year.

Delta expects December-quarter revenue to grow about 20%, and full-year earnings of $5.10 to $5.60 per share, along with a $6 billion increase in fuel costs.

Those premium flyers are the customers Delta’s rivals are courting with Starlink.

The fight with Musk began in March, when Delta chose Amazon Leo over Starlink, starting with an initial installation on 500 aircraft beginning in 2028.

Delta says Leo offers retail, Amazon Prime, video and gaming at a much lower price than Starlink.

In May, Musk offered a different reason.

He said Delta wanted passengers to log in through its own Delta Sync portal, which would funnel them into its loyalty program and present the Wi-Fi as a Delta perk rather than a Starlink service.