After Elon Musk slammed the Hamptons’ notoriously poor cell phone service at a major event and in an interview with Page Six, the owner of the hotel where he stayed, The Capri, said he agreed with the Tesla tycoon.
“The room I stayed in was [the] “The Isle of Capri is small,” Musk told Page Six, “and the WiFi, like cell service in general in the Hamptons, is in dire need of an upgrade.”
Rooms at the Southampton hotel, known for its pool parties and lively restaurant, Ketchie Beach, cost about $1,000 a night.
Over the years, the swanky hotel has hosted events that have attracted celebrities like Howard Stern and Jennifer Lopez, as well as prominent politicians like Nancy Pelosi, Governor Kathy Hockle, Mayor Eric Adams and Attorney General Letitia James.
Mayank Dwivedi, a co-owner of the hotel, said he had heard Musk’s complaints about the quality of Wi-Fi in the East End neighborhood and was keen to work with the billionaire entrepreneur to solve what has been a long-running issue in the upscale neighbourhood.
“Some people come East to unplug and relax, but the biggest giants in the world, including Elon, need to do business and they need to bring the internet up to 21st century standards,” Dwivedi said. “I would love to work with him to modernize the entire network. It’s a dream come true.”
As for the “small” rooms, we hear Dwivedi plans to turn the place into a five-star resort.
The SpaceX founder was in town for Michael Milken’s annual Hamptons Prostate Cancer Foundation gala and during a one-on-one conversation with Milken, he complained about the area’s cell phone service in front of fellow billionaires Julia Koch, Bill Ackman, Stephen Schwarzman, Rob Citron and Patrice Motsepe.
A spy told Page Six that Musk, who built a tech empire that includes Starlink, a satellite service that brought internet to isolated tribes in the Amazon, joked, “I had an important email I needed to respond to on the way here and I couldn’t…Everyone was asking where I was, Timbuktu.”
Poor cell phone reception and “dead zones” have long plagued this upscale neighborhood.
In 2020, Alan Patricof, the venture capital executive who founded private equity firms Apax Partners and Greycroft (which has invested in Bumble, Venmo and Goop), led a push to improve cell phone service in the Hamptons after the system was further strained by the large numbers of people living there during the pandemic.
Town Mayor Peter Van Scoyoc said at the time that during construction, some residents resisted the “ugly” cell tower.
“If the community wants better coverage, they’re going to have to support the towers,” Van Scoyoc said.
Patricof worked with marketing genius Jerry Della Femina to create the dramatic ad, which depicts a scenario in which a loved one “feels a sharp pain in their chest” while driving. “He pulls over, reaches for his cell phone to call you… the police… anyone… he needs help, right now. But help never comes,” the ad reads.
The ad was signed by citizens calling for better cell phone service.
Cell towers approved for installation in East Hampton and Sagaponack are facing lawsuits from residents who see the towers as an eyesore and worry that falling ice and other debris will lower property values.
Dwivedi formed a partnership with prominent lawyers Mark Geragos and Tina Grandian in Capri this year, and in 2023 bought East Hampton’s famed Maidstone Hotel with Irwin Simon.
