CEO of Ryanair rejects Musk’s buyout jab as the verbal spat intensifies

Elon Musk’s offer to purchase Ryanair is rejected by Michael O’Leary in the midst of a public spat over Starlink aircraft Wi-Fi systems.

Michael O’Leary, the CEO of Ryanair, has rejected Elon Musk’s offer to purchase the airline, dismissing the billionaire’s taunts as their public dispute grew more intense.

O’Leary remarked on Wednesday in the midst of a growing verbal spat that was started by Ryanair’s refusal to install Musk’s Starlink satellite WiFi system on its planes. The airline has claimed that the technology would be prohibitively costly because to the extra fuel drag brought on by the antennae.

“I would pay no attention whatsoever to Elon Musk, he’s an idiot,” O’Leary said on an Irish radio station after Musk accused him of being “misinformed.”

In response, Musk referred to O’Leary as a “imbecile” and a “utter idiot” on his social networking platform X. By posting, “Should I buy Ryan Air and put someone whose actual name is Ryan in charge?” he also hinted at the possibility of purchasing the airline. 76.5 percent of those who responded to a survey he later conducted on the site supported the notion.

Speaking to reporters in Dublin, the home base of Ryanair, O’Leary noted that even if Musk wanted to take over the airline, he would not be able to do so.

O’Leary stated, “Non-European citizens can’t own a majority stake in a European airline,” pointing out that Musk was born in South Africa but currently resides in the US.

However, we believe it would be a very wise investment if he wanted to put money into Ryanair. “It’s undoubtedly a much better investment than the money he’s making on X,” he continued.

After earlier conflicts with the platform’s leadership, Musk paid $44 billion to acquire X, formerly known as Twitter, in 2022.

Known for stoking controversy, O’Leary expressed gratitude to Musk for the “extra publicity” and said he appreciated the attention the dispute brought. Since then, Ryanair has started a seat sale with advertisements that feature a cartoon of the billionaire.

The personal jabs also seemed to have little effect on him.

O’Leary stated, “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 offended him, “including my four teenage children.”