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Musk 'Flirts' with Ryanair Acquisition After Clash with CEO

Published January 20, 2026, 08:18
Musk 'Flirts' with Ryanair Acquisition After Clash with CEO

Elon Musk has stirred up controversy with Ryanair and its CEO, Michael O'Leary, following a public dispute over the installation of Starlink Wi-Fi on the airline's aircraft. The conflict began when O'Leary called Musk "idiot" in a podcast, criticizing the high cost of the Starlink service. Musk responded with equally offensive comments, even suggesting he would acquire Ryanair and appoint a Ryan as CEO. Musk continued to sarcastically 'offer' to buy Ryanair through posts on X (formerly Twitter), asking how much it would cost and claiming that putting a Ryan in charge of the company is "destiny". His posts sparked intense discussion on social media, with many users commenting and betting on the likelihood of the acquisition going through. Ryanair is a publicly traded company, with the majority of shares held by institutional investors. Michael O'Leary held a significant stake, but sold shares worth €21 million in June 2023. If Musk wants to proceed with the acquisition, he would need to make a hostile takeover bid or submit a purchase offer to the shareholders. Despite the strong rhetoric, X's AI, Grok, claims that Musk's comments are mostly in jest. However, public reaction and betting on Polymarket indicate a small chance (9%) that the acquisition will actually happen.