Elon Musk wants to buy Ryanair; says he'll put a 'Ryan' in charge

Elon Musk has suggested buying Ryanair after a sharp online exchange with the airline’s chief executive Michael O’Leary over the use of Starlink internet on aircraft. The remarks followed a social media post by Ryanair that mocked a recent outage on X, owned by Musk.

The exchange began after O’Leary ruled out installing Starlink on Ryanair’s fleet of more than 600 aircraft. He said passengers on short-haul flights do not need Wi-Fi and added that installing the system would raise fuel costs because of extra weight and drag.



“You need to put an antenna on the fuselage; it comes with a 2% fuel penalty because of the weight and drag. We don't think our passengers are willing to pay for WiFi for an average 1-hour flight,” O’Leary said, as per a Reuters report.

Musk responded by calling the Ryanair chief “misinformed” and claimed the airline did not understand how to measure the fuel impact of Starlink equipment.

The exchange escalated on X, with Musk posting, “Ryanair CEO is an utter idiot. Fire him.”

When a follower suggested Musk should buy the airline and remove O’Leary himself, Musk replied, “Good idea.” He later asked users on X, “Should I buy Ryan Air and put someone whose actual name is Ryan in charge?”



Musk also argued that in-flight connectivity is becoming an expectation rather than a luxury and said airlines that do not offer internet access risk losing customers. Ryanair has not responded to Musk’s comments about a possible takeover, and no formal proposal has been announced.