Sky-High Spat: Musk vs. O'Leary Over Ryanair and Starlink

A heated exchange between Ryanair's CEO and Elon Musk over installing Starlink on Ryanair planes has caught attention. Musk suggested buying the airline, while O'Leary dismissed the idea. Discussions on the potential partnership are ongoing, but cost concerns persist, with the conversation also touching on wider controversies linked to Musk.

In a clash of corporate titans, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary dismissed Elon Musk's recent musings about acquiring the budget airline. The spat began over Ryanair's reluctance to install Musk's Starlink satellite Wi-Fi due to concerns over cost and fuel efficiency. O'Leary retorted to Musk's social media jabs by simply calling the billionaire an 'idiot.'

O'Leary, speaking from the airline's Dublin headquarters, noted that non-European citizens, like Musk, cannot own a majority stake in European airlines. He suggested, however, that Musk's investment would be more fruitful than his purchase of X, formerly Twitter. The airline has used the spat for promotional gains, launching a seat sale featuring a Musk caricature.

Despite insults, discussions on Starlink continue. O'Leary highlighted its benefits but cited a $250 million annual cost as prohibitive. Talks with other providers, like Amazon, are also ongoing. O'Leary didn't shy away from criticizing social media platform X and Musk's controversial AI chatbot, Grok, as well.

(With inputs from agencies.)