Elon Musk's Proposal to Buy Ryanair Amid Public Feud with CEO Michael O’Leary

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, recently sparked headlines by suggesting he might buy Ryanair, Europe's largest budget airline. This proposal came amid a heated public exchange with Ryanair's CEO, Michael O’Leary. The dispute began when O’Leary dismissed the idea of installing Musk's Starlink satellite internet technology on Ryanair's fleet of 650 aircraft. O’Leary argued that adding Starlink antennae would increase fuel drag by 2%, costing the airline an additional $200 million to $250 million annually on top of its $5 billion kerosene bill. Musk countered this claim on his social media platform X, calling O’Leary's assessment “misinformed.” The disagreement quickly escalated into personal insults, with both men calling each other “idiots,” and Musk even suggesting that O’Leary should be fired.

On January 20, 2026, Musk took the feud a step further by posting a poll on X asking his followers if he should buy Ryanair and “restore Ryan as their rightful ruler,” referring to Tony Ryan, the airline’s co-founder who passed away in 2007. The poll attracted nearly 900,000 votes within hours, with over 75% supporting the idea. Musk also joked about putting someone named Ryan in charge of the airline, poking fun at O’Leary’s leadership. Ryanair's official X account responded with humor, mocking Musk during a recent X platform outage by suggesting he might need Wi-Fi, to which Musk replied by inquiring about the cost of buying the airline.

While Musk’s comments may seem like playful banter, his history shows he sometimes acts on such impulses. In 2017, Musk expressed interest in buying Twitter, which he eventually acquired in a $44 billion deal nearly five years later and rebranded as X. Despite this precedent, there are legal and regulatory hurdles to Musk’s potential acquisition of Ryanair. European Union aviation rules require that airlines based in the EU be majority-owned by EU nationals or citizens of certain European countries, which could complicate any takeover attempt by Musk, who is South African-born and primarily based in the United States.

The dispute highlights broader challenges in the aviation industry regarding the integration of new technologies like satellite internet. While Musk champions Starlink as a revolutionary service that could enhance passenger experience, Ryanair’s cost-conscious business model and focus on low fares make it wary of additional expenses that could impact ticket prices. O’Leary emphasized that passengers are unlikely to pay extra for onboard internet, especially if it is not free, and that the added fuel costs from installing antennae would be prohibitive.

This public spat also underscores the personalities involved: O’Leary, known for his blunt and sometimes provocative remarks, dismissed Musk’s expertise in aviation and expressed relief at being too old for social media. Musk, conversely, used his platform to challenge O’Leary’s views and engage his followers in the debate. As of now, Ryanair has not officially commented on Musk’s buyout proposal. Whether Musk’s idea will move beyond social media remains uncertain, but the episode illustrates how tech moguls are increasingly intersecting with traditional industries, sometimes in unexpected and dramatic ways.