Elon Musk and Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary traded insults in a public row over Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi. The dispute started when Ryanair rejected Musk’s satellite internet for its fleet. O’Leary called Musk an “idiot” on Ireland’s Newstalk radio, dismissing his claims.
O’Leary declared he would “pay no attention whatsoever to Elon Musk.” He labelled Musk’s platform X a “cesspit.”
Musk responded on X: “Ryanair CEO is an utter idiot. Fire him.” He followed up, accusing O’Leary of miscalculating Starlink’s fuel impact “by a factor of 10” and calling him an “imbecile.”
Ryanair’s X account mocked Musk during a platform outage: “perhaps you need Wi-Fi @elonmusk?”
Ryanair rejects Starlink costs
Ryanair ruled out Starlink on its 600+ Boeing 737s due to drag from external antennas. O’Leary estimated a 2% fuel penalty, costing hundreds of millions yearly. He argued short-haul passengers rarely pay for Wi-Fi, making it unviable.
Musk countered by citing airlines already using Starlink-equipped planes. He claimed fast internet will drive passenger choices.
"I would pay no attention to Elon Musk, he's an idiot.'@ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary responds to Mr Musk, calling him 'misinformed' for not putting Starlink – Mr Musk's satellite system – on his aircrafts.
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) January 17, 2026
Full interview below: pic.twitter.com/a50ACN0dau
Source: Politico
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