Elon Musk's SpaceX just made a huge play to challenge the phone industry and stocks like AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon are getting crushed

Elon Musk's SpaceX (SPCX) just sent a big message to the wireless industry. We want our piece of the subscriber pie. Late Thursday, SpaceX said it will acquire a nationwide low-band spectrum portfolio. It positions Musk's satellite business Starlink to challenge legacy wireless giants across the US. Shares of AT&T (T), T-Mobile (TMUS) and Verizon (VZ) were crushed in afterhours trading on the news. Concerns had already escalated across Wall Street that Starlink could disrupt legacy wireless operators like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile by transitioning from a rural broadband service into a direct mobile competitor.