Elon Musk Asks “How Much Would It Cost” To Purchase Airline

Elon Musk raised the idea of buying ultra-low-cost airline Ryanair after calling the company’s CEO an “utter idiot.”

“Ryanair CEO is an utter idiot. Fire him,” Musk said, responding to a video where Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary called him an “idiot” regarding internet usage on flights.

O’Leary rejected the idea of installing SpaceX’s Starlink internet service on Ryanair planes.

“I would pay no attention whatsoever to Elon Musk, he’s an idiot,” O’Leary said.

“Very wealthy, but he’s still an idiot,” he added.

Check it out:

Ryanair CEO is an utter idiot. Fire him.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2026

Musk said “good idea” to a response suggesting he buy Ryanair and fire the CEO himself.

Good idea

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2026

Forbes shared further:

Shortly after X suffered a sitewide outage on Friday, Ryanair’s account, which is known for its witty posts, poked fun at Musk, asking, “Perhaps you need Wi-Fi.” That’s when Musk hit back by suggesting that he might try to buy Ryanair and put a person named Ryan in charge, garnering 9.5 million impressions as of Monday afternoon.

Should I buy Ryan Air and put someone whose actual name is Ryan in charge?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2026

“How much would it cost to buy you?” Musk also asked the airline.

How much would it cost to buy you?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 19, 2026

“Buy Ryan Air and restore Ryan as their rightful ruler,” Musk later stated in a poll on X.

Buy Ryan Air and restore Ryan as their rightful ruler

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 19, 2026

NDTV noted:

The alleged feud between Musk and Ryanair started on Wednesday (Jan 14) after O’Leary ruled out installing the Starlink internet device on Ryanair’s fleet of more than 600 jets. O’Leary cited the impact of fuel costs from drag caused by the antenna, and estimated the service would cost the airline up to $250 million a year.

“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,” said O’Leary.

Musk responded, saying that the Ryanair boss was “misinformed”, adding that the airline did not know how to measure the fuel impact of Starlink equipment.

What’s your verdict?