Topline
Michael O’Leary, CEO of Irish budget airline Ryanair, on Tuesday launched a ticket sale called the “Big ‘Idiot’ Seat Sale” as an escalation of his feud with billionaire Elon Musk and said he’ll hold a press conference Wednesday to discuss Musk’s “Twitter tantrum.”
A Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 from Ryanair is landing at Barcelona Airport on Feb. 23, 2024.
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Key Facts
Musk and O’Leary have been sparring on X, the social media site Musk owns, since late last week after O’Leary appeared on a podcast and said “I would pay no attention whatsoever to Elon Musk, he’s an idiot.”
Musk then called O’Leary “an utter idiot” and the jabs have continued since, culminating with the airline’s sale announced in a post Tuesday that said “Ryanair is launching a Great Idiots seat sale especially for Elon and any other idiots on X. 100,000 seats for just €16.99 one-way. Buy now before Musk gets one!!!”
The sale is being advertised alongside a graphic of cartoon versions of O’Leary and Musk (who is wearing an X t-shirt, holding a Tesla model car and standing next to a rocketship) that depicts the former hitting Musk over the head with a sign that says “I ❤️Ryanair.”
The Ryanair CEO also said he will hold a press conference in Dublin on Wednesday to “address (undress??) Elon Musk’s latest Twitshi*t,” adding “Musk knows even less about airline ownership rules than he does about aircraft aerodynamics.”
Musk responded to news of the sale Tuesday by calling O’Leary an “insufferable, special needs chimp” who “has no idea how airplanes even fly.”
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Key Background
O’Leary was shutting down the idea of installing satellite internet services from Musk’s company Starlink on Ryanair planes on a podcast last week when he said Musk is “very wealthy, but he’s still an idiot.” O’Leary said Musk knows “zero” about flights and drag, and said he “wouldn’t pay any attention to anything that Elon Musk puts on that cesspit of his called X.” Musk responded on Friday by writing, “Ryanair CEO is an utter idiot. Fire him.” When a follower suggested he buy Ryanair and fire O’Leary, Musk wrote, “Good idea.” The billionaire then posted, “Should I buy Ryan Air and put someone whose actual name is Ryan in charge?” On Sunday, the Ryanair X account responded to a post that said “what is a propaganda you’re not falling for??” by saying “Wi-Fi on planes.” Musk then re-upped his idea, responding, “How much would it cost to buy you?” and adding, “I really want to put a Ryan in charge of Ryan Air. It is your destiny.”
Forbes Valuation
Musk, CEO at Tesla, SpaceX and xAI, is the richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $770 billion as of Tuesday. O’Leary briefly appeared on Forbes’ billionaire list in 2018 but dropped off in 2019 due to a slump in Ryanair’s stock prices and has not been named a billionaire since. Ryanair’s stock price has increased more than 60% over the last 12 months. O’Leary said his airline’s profits were boosted 40% between April and September of last year thanks to Europeans who chose to travel locally for holidays out of a “reluctance” to travel to the United States.
Further Reading
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2026/01/20/ryanair-announces-big-idiot-seat-sale-as-elon-musk-feuds-with-ceo/
