Elon Musk has asked users of his social media platform X whether he should buy Ryanair, escalating a public dispute with the airline’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary.
The Tesla and SpaceX boss has posted several comments in recent days suggesting he could acquire the low-cost carrier in order to remove Mr O’Leary from his role.
On Monday evening, Mr Musk shared a poll on X asking: “Buy Ryan Air and restore Ryan as their rightful ruler?” The post, which appeared to reference Ryanair’s late founder Tony Ryan, was viewed more than 30 million times.
Despite the online attention, Ryanair’s share price has shown little reaction. The airline’s stock rose slightly on Tuesday before falling back, indicating that investors do not expect Mr Musk to pursue a takeover. Ryanair has a market value of around $35bn (£28bn) and is expected to be debt-free later this year.
Any acquisition would face major regulatory hurdles. Under European Union rules, airlines based in the bloc must be majority-owned by EU nationals or citizens of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein.
Ryanair previously restricted non-EU shareholders following Brexit, although it later lifted the ban after confirming that most of its investors met the ownership requirements. Non-EU shareholders are still barred from voting.
The dispute began last week after Mr O’Leary dismissed the idea of installing Starlink satellite internet on Ryanair aircraft. Speaking to Ireland’s Newstalk radio, he said the service would increase fuel burn by adding drag to aircraft and cost the airline around $250m a year, arguing passengers would not be willing to pay for it.
Mr O’Leary also said Mr Musk knew “zero” about aviation and aircraft performance. In response, Mr Musk described the Ryanair boss as an “utter idiot” and said he should be fired. When an X user suggested he buy the airline instead, Mr Musk replied that it was a good idea.
The exchange has continued online. After X suffered a brief outage in the United States last week, Ryanair’s official account posted a message suggesting the platform needed better wifi. The airline later joked that in-flight wifi was “propaganda”.
Both Mr Musk and Mr O’Leary are well known for provocative public statements, often using social media and interviews to generate attention without traditional advertising.
