“How much would it cost to buy you out?” »: Elon Musk asks on X if he should acquire Ryanair

The famous blue and yellow company soon to be owned by Elon Musk? The South African billionaire asked his followers on his social network X if he should buy Ryanair, sparking a conflict with the airline’s boss Michael O’Leary.

Questioned by AFP, Ryanair had not reacted Tuesday afternoon to this survey published Monday evening, to which more than 900,000 people have since responded. The boss of Starlink, but also of Tesla, used to provocations on his social network, has been suggesting for several days to buy Europe’s leading airline with succinct messages.

On Monday, Ryanair’s X account, used to posting ironic messages, shared a third-party tweet asking: “What propaganda wouldn’t you give in to?” “. “Wi-Fi on planes,” the company replied. The latter then asked “how much would it cost to buy from you?” », then “I really want to put a Ryan at the head of Ryanair. It’s your destiny” He also calls for the dismissal of Michael O’Leary, whom he describes, among other things, as a “true idiot”.

“A very rich idiot”

The conflict between the two men began after an interview with Michael O’Leary on Irish radio Newstalk, in which he ruled out hiring the services of the Starlink satellite network to equip his fleet with Wi-Fi, estimating that it would cost up to $250 million per year. A dispute to which the Ryanair account directly referred in its message posted Monday.

“Frankly, I wouldn’t pay any attention to what Elon Musk publishes about this cesspool he calls X. He’s the guy who advocated the election of Donald Trump,” he also declared. “He’s an idiot; very rich, but he’s still an idiot,” added the boss of the low-cost airline, also known for his outspokenness and his provocations.

Ryanair’s market valuation amounts to almost 30 billion euros. However, European rules require that an airline based in the EU must be majority owned by nationals of the EU (or third European countries).