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Hold onto your hats, folks, because the war of words between Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary and tech titan Elon Musk has reached new heights of delightful absurdity! In a move that perfectly embodies the discount carrier’s famously cheeky brand, Ryanair has offered Musk a free flight as part of a “big idiot” promotion, following a week of glorious back-and-forth insults.
“I suspect he’s a bigger idiot than me, but nevertheless, he probably thinks I am a bigger idiot than him,” O’Leary quipped on Wednesday during a press conference in Dublin, where Ryanair is headquartered. The verbal jabs began after O’Leary declared he wouldn’t be installing Starlink, Musk’s satellite internet service, on Ryanair planes.
His reasoning? The added weight of the antennas would hike up fuel costs, a cardinal sin for a budget airline.
O’Leary acknowledged Starlink’s quality, stating, “It is a terrific system. It works very well.” However, he quickly added, “The problem is if you put it on board aircraft, there is a cost of that of about $200 million, $250 million a year, including the cost of installation and then the fuel drag.”
While Starlink remained tight-lipped, Ryanair wasn’t about to let a good spat go to waste. They quickly capitalized on the brouhaha by launching a “big idiot seat sale” on Tuesday, slinging 100,000 one-way tickets for a mere 16.99 Euros.
“Ryanair is launching a Great idiot seat sale especially for Elon Musk and any other idiots on X,” the airline gleefully posted on X. “Buy now before Musk gets one!!!”
O’Leary confirmed that Ryanair had indeed explored Starlink, even meeting with executives, but ultimately decided against it. This decision last week prompted Musk to call the airline leader “misinformed” on social media. O’Leary, never one to back down, then told an Irish radio station that he’d “pay no attention whatsoever to Elon Musk, he’s an idiot.”
Musk, in turn, escalated the digital skirmish on his platform, X, dubbing O’Leary an “utter idiot” and an “imbecile.” The world’s richest man (with a net worth approaching $700 billion, according to Bloomberg) even launched a playful poll asking followers if he should buy Ryanair “and put someone whose actual name is Ryan in charge?”
O’Leary, who has helmed Ryanair for over three decades, responded to the takeover jest on Wednesday by stating that Musk is welcome to launch a bid, though he pointed out that non-European citizens are barred from owning a majority stake in a European airline.
“But if he wants to invest in Ryanair, we would think it’s a very good investment,” O’Leary said, taking one last swipe. “Certainly a significantly better investment than the financial returns he’s earning on X.”
It seems this battle of wits (and insults) is far from over, and we’re just here for the ride!