Ryanair issues brutal response to Elon Musk after he claims he could buy company
The airline called the Tesla founder “a great idiot” after he created a poll on the social media platform X/Twitter, which he owns, asking his followers if he should buy Ryanair and “restore Ryan as their rightful ruler”.
It comes days after he previously made the suggestion amid a feud with the Irish airline over the use of WiFi on flights.
Ryanair’s chief executive Michael O’Leary said in an interview with Irish radio station Newstalk that he would “pay no attention whatsoever” to Musk, labelling him an “idiot” after being asked about Starlink being introduced on planes.
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The budget airline announced its CEO will hold a press conference to address Musk’s “Twitter tantrum” at 10am on Wednesday in Dublin.
In a scathing statement, Ryanair said the tech billionaire knows “even less” about airline ownership rules than he does about aircraft aerodynamics, adding that he needs a break and offering him a “Great Idiots seat sale”.
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The statement read: “Ryanair CEO, Michael O'Leary, has called a press conference at 10:00 tomorrow Wed 1 Jan in Dublin to address (undress??) Elon Musk's latest Twitshit.
“‘Musk knows even less about airline ownership rules than he does about aircraft aerodynamics’, said MOL. Perhaps Musk needs a break??
“Ryanair is launching a Great Idiots seat sale especially for Elon and any other idiots on 'X'. 100,000 seats for just €16.99 one-way.”
It added: “Buy now before Musk gets one!!!”
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Starlink is a satellite internet system developed by Mr Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX.
O’Leary said the technology would be too costly as the aerial antenna would drag on the aircraft and “passengers wouldn’t pay for internet usage”.
However, Musk fired back at posts on Ryanair’s X/Twitter account which mocked the tech mogul over the row.
While his own posts are widely taken to be provocative rather than serious bids, Musk’s takeover of X, formerly Twitter, began with a surprise offer to buy it after he built up a stake.
Ryanair is listed on the Euronext index in Dublin and its shares have a market capitalisation of around 26.5 billion.
The low-cost airline is expecting to fly 207 million passengers over the current financial year.
