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US tech leader Elon Musk has conducted a poll on his social platform X, asking followers whether he should purchase Ryanair. This has sparked a disagreement with Michael O’Leary, the airline’s CEO, over the use of Starlink onboard for internet access.
By Tuesday evening, Ryanair had not responded to AFP’s request for comment regarding the poll, which attracted over 900,000 votes since being posted Monday.
Musk, the founder of Tesla and the head of Starlink—a satellite internet service developed by his aerospace firm SpaceX—has been hinting for days that he might acquire Europe’s largest airline. He has also publicly called for O’Leary’s dismissal, labeling him “a real idiot.”
The rivalry between the two outspoken entrepreneurs originated after O’Leary gave an interview to Irish radio station Newstalk. O’Leary dismissed using Starlink to provide Wi-Fi on Ryanair flights, estimating it would cost up to $250 million annually due to increased drag from aerial antennae and higher fuel consumption.
He also argued that passengers wouldn’t want to pay for internet service on the airline. “Elon Musk knows nothing about flight physics or drag,” O’Leary said. “Frankly, I’d ignore whatever Elon Musk posts on his so-called X platform.”
He added, “He’s very wealthy, but still an idiot.”
Ryanair’s market value is nearly EUR30 billion (about $35 billion). However, European regulations stipulate that an EU-based airline must be majority-owned by nationals of EU countries.
Elon Musk purchased Twitter, now rebranded as X, for $44 billion in 2022.
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