The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has asked his followers whether he should acquire Europe’s largest budget airline, Ryanair. Musk’s comments come amid a dispute with the company’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, that began last week. The dispute stems from Musk’s company, Starlink. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary stated that he would not install Starlink internet on his airline’s fleet. He cited the antenna on the cabin roof as adding weight and drag, potentially increasing fuel costs by up to 2%. O’Leary called Musk an idiot. O’Leary said passengers wouldn’t pay extra for an average one-hour flight. He also said he wouldn’t pay any attention to Musk, calling him an idiot. Musk responded by calling him “the biggest idiot” and suggesting he should be fired. Musk asked what the cost of acquiring the airline would be. Ryanair: Europe’s largest budget airline Ryanair is Europe’s largest low-cost airline and three times the size of Dutch Lufthansa. Its market value is approximately 30 billion euros (approximately ₹2.70 lakh crore). CEO Michael O’Leary is among the top 10 shareholders. Last year, the company’s shares rose 55%. Musk’s past pattern: first criticism, then acquisition. This pattern of Musk’s is similar to his purchase of Twitter (now X). Back then, he criticized the company’s operations and the decisions of then-CEO Parag Aggarwal, and later acquired it. Now, with Ryanair, he appears to be moving in the same direction. Starlink is already available on many airlines. Starlink is providing internet access on several airlines, including United Airlines, Qatar Airways, Alaska Airlines, and WestJet. It is satellite-based, high-speed internet. Cost control is a major issue for low-cost carriers like Ryanair, which is why O’Leary declined. Musk’s net worth is over ₹70 lakh crore. Elon Musk is the richest man in the world. His net worth is over ₹70 lakh crore. He owns Tesla (electric cars), SpaceX (rockets), xAI (artificial intelligence), Neuralink (brain implants), The Boring Company (tunneling), and X (social media platform).
