Topline
Elon Musk publicly inquired about buying low-cost Irish airline Ryanair on Monday afternoon in a series of posts on X, his latest suggestion he may consider buying the struggling company.
A Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 from Ryanair is landing at Barcelona Airport in Barcelona, Spain, on February 23, 2024. (Photo by Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Key Facts
Musk responded to a witty X post from the airline appearing to oppose adding Wi-Fi on planes, asking Ryanair, “How much would it cost to buy you?” and then adding, “I really want to put a Ryan in charge of Ryan Air. It is your destiny.”
Moments later, he pinned a poll on his X profile asking users whether he should buy the company.
As of shortly before 3:30 p.m. EST, the poll had just over 300,000 votes, with 79% of users responding affirmatively.
Musk sells on-air WiFi services through SpaceX’s Starlink satellites.
Ryanair Holdings plc is a public company, meaning Musk would need to stage a hostile takeover or make an acquisition offer to shareholders to gain control.
Chief Critic
“I would pay no attention whatsoever to Elon Musk, he’s an idiot,” said Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary in a podcast late last week, sparking Musk’s rage. “Very wealthy, but he’s still an idiot.”
Big Number
$200 million-$250 million per year. That’s the annual cost of installing an aerial antenna needed to access Starlink satellites on top of an aircraft, according to O’Leary, who described Musk’s services as unaffordable.
Key Background
In a podcast clip posted Thursday, O’Leary rejected the idea of installing SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service on Ryanair aircraft, saying Elon Musk knows “zero” about flights and drag. The next day, Musk publicly responded to the clip by calling O’Leary “an utter idiot,” adding, “Fire him.” That prompted a user to suggest he buy Ryanair and fire O’Leary, sparking Musk’s interest, who responded with “Good idea.” 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.
