Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary has dismissed Elon Musk’s suggestion of buying the airline, brushing off insults from the billionaire as a public feud between the two intensified.
O’Leary spoke on Wednesday amid an escalating war of words sparked by Ryanair’s decision not to install Musk’s Starlink satellite Wi Fi system on its aircraft. The airline has argued that the additional fuel drag caused by the system’s antennas would make it too expensive.
After Musk accused him of being “misinformed,” O’Leary told an Irish radio station: “I would pay no attention whatsoever to Elon Musk, he’s an idiot.”
Musk responded on his social media platform X by calling O’Leary an “utter idiot” and an “imbecile.” He also floated the idea of buying the airline, posting: “Should I buy Ryan Air and put someone whose actual name is Ryan in charge?” He later ran a poll on the platform, with 76.5 percent of respondents voting in favour of the idea.
Speaking to reporters in Dublin, where Ryanair is headquartered, O’Leary pointed out that Musk would be unable to take control of the airline even if he wanted to.
“Non European citizens can’t own a majority stake in a European airlines,” O’Leary said, noting that Musk was born in South Africa and now lives in the United States.
“But if he wants to invest in Ryanair, we would think it’s a very good investment. Certainly a significantly better investment than the financial returns he’s earning on X,” he added.
Musk bought X, formerly known as Twitter, in 2022 for $44 billion following previous clashes with the platform’s leadership.
O’Leary, who is known for courting controversy, said he welcomed the attention generated by the dispute and thanked Musk for the “additional publicity.” Ryanair has since launched a seat sale featuring promotional material with a caricature of the billionaire.
He also appeared unfazed by the personal insults.
“All I would say to Elon Musk is he would have to join the back of a very, very, very, very long queue of people” who have insulted him, “including my four teenage children,” O’Leary said.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
Follow us on:
