Elon Musk has raised the prospect of buying Ryanair in the latest escalation of a public war of words with the airline’s outspoken chief executive, Michael O’Leary.
The exchange follows a disagreement over whether Europe’s largest low-cost carrier should install Musk’s Starlink satellite internet system across its fleet of more than 650 aircraft. O’Leary has repeatedly dismissed the idea, arguing that the required antennae and hardware would add unnecessary weight and drag, increasing fuel burn and operating costs.
The spat turned personal last week, with O’Leary branding Musk “an idiot”. Musk responded in kind, calling the Ryanair boss “an utter idiot”.
Now Musk has added a further twist. Posting on X, formerly Twitter, he asked users to vote in a poll on whether he should “buy Ryan Air and restore Ryan as their rightful ruler”, a reference to the airline’s late founder, Tony Ryan.
The post was viewed more than 30 million times, but any suggestion that investors were taking the idea seriously failed to materialise in the market. Ryanair, which has a market value of around $30 billion, saw its shares briefly rise in early trading on Tuesday before slipping back to €28.83 on Euronext, broadly flat on the day and lower than a week earlier.
There was no immediate response from Ryanair to Musk’s comments. O’Leary, 64, is a noted critic of social media and has previously described X as “a cesspit”. Musk, 54, is one of the platform’s most prolific users.
The original disagreement began when O’Leary was asked whether Ryanair would follow rivals such as Lufthansa and British Airways in adopting Starlink for onboard connectivity.
O’Leary said he had no intention of doing so, claiming the installation would add up to $250 million in additional costs across the airline’s fleet. While passengers might use inflight internet if it were free, he argued, they would be unwilling to pay even €1 for the service.
Musk countered that O’Leary was “misinformed” about the impact of Starlink hardware on aircraft performance. O’Leary replied that Musk’s knowledge of running an airline amounted to “zero”.
While the exchange has provided ample entertainment for observers, the muted share price reaction suggests that markets view Musk’s takeover musings as little more than another provocation in a high-profile clash between two of business’s most combative personalities.
