Ryanair CEO Calls Elon Musk an "Idiot?!" You Won't Believe Why!

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary, never one to shy away from a good scrap, has escalated his ongoing feud with tech mogul Elon Musk in spectacular fashion. The airline is now offering a "Great Idiots" seat sale, clearly aimed at poking fun at the Tesla and SpaceX chief after Musk publicly criticized Ryanair's decision to pass on Starlink internet service on their flights.

Ryanair CEO Calls Elon Musk an "Idiot?!" You Won't...

The Dublin-based airline announced the sale of 100,000 seats for a mere €16.99 on Tuesday, with the not-so-subtle nudge to customers to book "before Musk gets one." This all kicked off last week when Musk, not known for mincing words himself, called O'Leary an "utter idiot" for dismissing Starlink and even a hypothetical takeover bid. He even went so far as to suggest replacing O'Leary with someone actually named Ryan! A Twitter poll (now X, of course) subsequently showed that a whopping 75% of respondents were on board with that idea. Ouch.

O'Leary, seemingly unfazed, has shrugged off Musk's barbs. "If he wants to call me an idiot, he wouldn’t be the first, and he certainly won’t be the last," he told reporters, according to the BBC. Classic O'Leary. Always playing the game. He also added, and I think this is key, that "if it helps to boost Ryanair sales, you could insult me all day, every day." The man knows his brand. He even called social media "a cesspit," which, let's be honest, is often pretty accurate, but he also readily acknowledges its marketing value for Ryanair. A master of self-deprecation and capitalizing on controversy, it seems.

Apparently, O'Leary estimates that installing Wi-Fi via Starlink would cost a hefty $250 million annually, including the added fuel expenses. He did, however, leave the door open for investment. "Ryanair would be open to investment from the world’s richest person," he stated, "but a takeover is impossible under European Union rules restricting foreign airline ownership." It's true, EU regulations require that EU-based airlines be majority-owned by EU, Swiss, Norwegian, Icelandic, or Liechtenstein citizens. So, a Musk takeover is a non-starter.

The bottom line? O'Leary confirmed that this public dispute, which he playfully termed Musk's "Twitter tantrum," has actually boosted seat bookings. Smart move, I suppose. He also revealed that Ryanair and Starlink had been in discussions for a year about onboard Wi-Fi, but they ultimately deemed it too expensive, particularly as Ryanair was looking for a provider willing to front the installation costs. Sources say the two companies clashed significantly on projected passenger usage of the service. It seems even billionaires and budget airlines can't agree on the cost of connectivity. And honestly, I’m not sure I would want to pay for Wi-Fi on a Ryanair flight. The journey is usually short enough to disconnect!