Elon Musk has sparked fresh controversy after publicly floating the idea of buying Ryanair, escalating a bitter and very public feud with the airline’s outspoken chief executive Michael O’Leary.
The world’s richest man took to X to ask his followers whether he should acquire “the world’s most profitable airline”, shortly after O’Leary dismissed Musk and ruled out installing Starlink WiFi on Ryanair aircraft.
More than 30 million users voted in the poll, with a large majority backing the idea.
The clash began after Michael O’Leary said last week that Ryanair would not be fitting SpaceX’s Starlink service to its planes, arguing the necessary antennae would increase drag, drive up fuel consumption and ultimately push fares higher.
“What Elon Musk knows about flights and drag would be zero,” O’Leary said in an interview with Irish radio station Newstalk. “He’s an idiot. Very wealthy, but he’s still an idiot.”
O’Leary estimated the cost of installing the technology would be “about $200–250 million a year”, equivalent to an extra dollar per passenger, adding: “Passengers won’t pay for internet usage. If it’s free, they’ll use it, but they won’t pay €1 each.” He later described X as a “cesspit.”
Musk responded forcefully online, declaring that the Ryanair CEO “needs to be fired” and asking the airline directly: “How much would it cost to buy you?” He joked about “restoring Ryan as their rightful ruler,” insisting, “It is your destiny.”
The Tesla and SpaceX boss then launched another poll to his 232.5 million followers, asking whether he should “Buy Ryanair and restore Ryan as their rightful ruler.” Around 77 per cent of nearly 800,000 respondents voted yes.
Tech entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, weighed in on the spat, commenting: “This timeline does get really entertaining at times.”
The exchange intensified after Ryanair’s official X account — known for its provocative and humorous posts — appeared to mock the debate. In response to a question asking “what is propaganda you’re not falling for?” the airline replied: “Wi-Fi on planes.”
Musk replied angrily, using highly offensive language to insult O’Leary and again calling for his dismissal. Ryanair has not formally responded to Musk’s latest remarks.
Despite the online theatrics, there is no indication that Musk has made a genuine bid for the Irish low-cost carrier, nor that Ryanair is open to a sale. Still, the episode has drawn global attention, underlining how a dispute over in-flight WiFi has spiralled into a high-profile war of words between two of business’s most outspoken figures.
