--- title: "Elon Musk Is So Unlikable That His Feud With Random Airline Is Doing Wonders for Sales, Says CEO" description: "The CEO of Ryanair Michael O'Leary thanked Elon Musk for railing against the airline, claiming it's brought in more bookings." date: "2026-01-23" modified: "2026-01-23" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/elon-musk-ryanair" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" --- # Elon Musk Is So Unlikable That His Feud With Random Airline Is Doing Wonders for Sales, Says CEO ![The CEO of Ryanair Michael O'Leary thanked Elon Musk for railing against the airline, claiming it's brought in more bookings.]() *Brian Lawless / PA Images via Getty Images* Elon Musk tried to pick a fight with a major airline CEO — who says thanks for all the additional business you're bringing in with your public tantrum, sucker. "We love these PR spats that drive bookings on Ryanair," the budget airline's chief Michael O'Leary said at a news conference in Dublin on Wednesday, [as quoted by *CNN*](). "And we want to thank him sincerely for the additional publicity." The trash talking began last week when the Irish airline, the largest in Europe, said it wouldn't install its fleet with Starlink technology, a satellite-based internet service operated by Musk's company SpaceX. O'Leary claimed that the Starlink antennas would add drag to the planes and drive up fuel costs. Musk could barely hide the sting he felt from the snub. He initially [responded]() by calling O'Leary "misinformed" and added that he doubted Ryanair "can even measure the difference in fuel use accurately." Smelling controversy, O'Leary went on a [interview]() with the Irish radio station *Newstalk* to taunt the world's richest man. "I would pay no attention whatsoever to Elon Musk," O'Leary said. "He's an idiot. Very wealthy, but he's still an idiot. What Elon Musk knows about flights and drag would be zero." Musk, naturally, took the bait. O'Leary was no longer merely "misinformed," but a "retarded twat who needs to be fired," he seethed in response to the official Ryanair X account [joking]() that wifi on planes was a scam. Musk even threatened to buy out the airliner and [posted a poll]() asking his fans whether he should "restore Ryan as their rightful ruler" once he does. Clearly, Grok was not consulted before putting up the poll: the "Ryan" Musk is presumably referring to is the Irish billionaire Tony Ryan, who died in 2007. O'Leary didn't back down. Tagging Musk's account, the Ryanair account [announced]() that it was launching a "Great Idiots seat sale" dedicated to "Elon and any other idiots on 'X,'" and that O'Leary would be giving a press conference "to address ([undress]()??)" Musk's "latest Twitshit." (Yes, they [went there]().) Again, Musk fell for the trap. "The insufferable, special needs chimp currently running Ryan Air is an accountant," he [fumed]() in response to the announcement. "Has no idea how airplanes even fly." Ryanair and its CEO, not unlike Musk, are no strangers to controversy and often actively court it. Musk, though, is being thoroughly outdone at his own shtick. At the Wednesday conference, O'Leary gloated about the success of the "Big Idiot Seat Sale" and said he wasn't bothered by Musk's tirades. "As anybody with teenage children would know, you're frequently called an idiot and a twat at home," he said, per *CNN*. "I don't need to go outside to be insulted." He also said that while only European citizens could own European airlines, Musk was welcome to pour money into the company. "We would think it's a very good investment, certainly a significantly better investment than the financial returns he is earning on X." **More on Elon Musk:** [*Elon Musk Says His Optimus Robot Is So Dope That People Will Forget Tesla Ever Made Cars*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()