What changed
Drive Tesla Canada reported on Aug 5, 2026 that, “according to figures published by SpaceX”, Starlink passed 12 million subscribers in the second quarter of 2026, adding nearly 2 million customers in the quarter. The previous update, for the first quarter, put the total at about 10 million.
The same report said Starlink brought in $4.3 billion in the quarter, up 66% year on year, with average revenue per user of $66 a month, and that growth came even though the company raised prices and ended promotions in the same quarter.
When
Reported Aug 5, 2026, covering the quarter to the end of June 2026. We date the post to the report, as an approximation of when SpaceX published the figures. We could read only one outlet’s report.
Who is affected
Nobody’s plan or referral changes. It’s context for owners who rely on referrals and wonder whether Starlink still needs them.
What it means for you
A fast-growing subscription business still pays for referrals, and nothing in these figures says the program is changing. What would change it is a notice from SpaceX: under the US terms, SpaceX can change or end the program, or the reward, with 30 days’ notice, and referrals already pending keep the old terms during that time.
More customers also means more people who can’t be referred. A referral only counts for someone who has never been a Starlink subscriber.
What to do now
Nothing. If you depend on referral rewards, keep your account email current so a notice of change reaches you, and check our changelog, where we log only changes we can source.
What stays the same
The referral reward, the free month for the new customer, the eligibility rules and the sharing rules.
What we don’t know yet
How many subscribers are in the US, how many came through referrals, and whether price rises affect who signs up. The coverage we read doesn’t break these out.
How to check it yourself
SpaceX’s own quarterly figures are the primary source; Drive Tesla Canada’s Aug 5, 2026 report is the one we could read. Our earlier post on SpaceX’s S-1 filing covers the 10.3 million figure for Mar 31, 2026. For the referral program, the document that matters is the US Referral Program Terms on starlink.com.