Elon Musk wants Ryanair, CEO calls him an idiot
Elon Musk has again raised the idea of buying Ryanair, this time through a poll on his social media platform X. The proposal comes amid a growing public conflict with Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary over the airline’s refusal to install Starlink, Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
O’Leary has argued that adding Starlink antennas would increase drag and fuel costs by around $250 million a year, and said passengers on Ryanair’s mainly short flights would not pay for Wi-Fi. He also called Musk a “very rich idiot,” prompting Musk to respond with repeated online taunts and calls for O’Leary to be removed.
"Musk knows even less about airline ownership rules than he does about aircraft aerodynamics", added O’Leary.
In his X poll, Musk asked whether he should buy Ryanair and “restore Ryan as their rightful ruler.” Nearly 950,000 users voted, with 76% supporting the idea. Musk did not clarify which “Ryan” he meant, though Ryanair’s co-founder Tony Ryan died in 2007.
Ryanair replied with its own jab, launching a sale of 100,000 tickets at €16.99 “for Elon and any other idiots on X.” The airline also said O’Leary would address Musk’s “X tantrum” at a press conference in Dublin.
The company’s shares have moved little since the feud began, suggesting investors do not expect Musk to follow through. Ryanair’s market value is about $35 billion, while Musk’s fortune is around $768 billion, making a takeover possible in theory but unlikely in practice.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Elon Musk posted an AI generated video featuring the humanoid robot Optimus on his X account.
