Billionaire Showdown: Elon Musk and Michael O'Leary Collide Over Starlink Snub

Elon Musk has clashed publicly with Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary after Europe's largest budget airline ruled out installing SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet across its fleet, triggering a sharp exchange of insults on social media.

The dispute began after Ryanair said the technology was not commercially viable for its short-haul model, citing increased fuel consumption due to the weight and drag of the antenna. O'Leary argued that passengers flying for around an hour were unwilling to pay extra for onboard Wi-Fi, a view that puts the Irish carrier at odds with rivals increasingly embracing high-speed satellite connectivity.

What started as a technical disagreement quickly escalated into a personal feud. Musk accused O'Leary of being misinformed, while the airline boss dismissed the billionaire as an 'idiot', prompting Musk to suggest O'Leary should be fired and joking about buying the airline himself.

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The spat has drawn attention to a broader debate within aviation over whether next-generation connectivity makes sense for ultra-low-cost carriers, especially as fuel prices and environmental pressures continue to shape airline strategy.

Ryanair rejects Starlink on cost grounds

Speaking to Reuters in Brussels, O'Leary said Ryanair had no plans to adopt Starlink, arguing that the system imposed a '2% fuel penalty because of the weight and drag' from the antenna installed on the fuselage. He added that the economics did not add up for the airline's business model, which relies on keeping fares and operating costs as low as possible.

'We don't think our passengers are willing to pay for WiFi for an average 1-hour flight,' O'Leary said. He estimated that equipping the fleet would add around $250.00 (£197.50) million annually in extra fuel costs, equivalent to roughly $1.00 (£0.79) per passenger.

That stance contrasts sharply with full-service carriers. Lufthansa recently announced a deal to install Starlink across its aircraft, while Scandinavian airline SAS adopted the system last year, saying its aerodynamic drag was lower than that of competing technologies.

Musk and SpaceX dispute fuel penalty claims

Musk responded on X, saying O'Leary 'is being misinformed', a claim supported by SpaceX executives. Michael Nicolls, vice president of Starlink engineering, said internal analysis showed the fuel penalty for a Boeing 737-800 would be closer to 0.3%, far below Ryanair's estimate.

The disagreement became more heated after O'Leary told Irish radio station Newstalk that he 'would pay no attention whatsoever to Elon Musk', describing him as 'very wealthy, but still an idiot'. Musk replied by calling O'Leary an 'utter idiot', adding that he should be fired and joking about replacing him with 'someone whose actual name is Ryan'.

Ryanair's official social media account also joined the fray, mocking Musk after a temporary outage on X in the US, prompting Musk to escalate his tongue-in-cheek suggestion of buying the airline.

Starlink, passenger demand and industry trends

Installing Starlink requires external antennas and radomes, which inevitably add weight and increase drag. SpaceX argues its newer, thinner designs dramatically reduce this impact compared with older inflight Wi-Fi systems. Several airlines have cited Starlink's lightweight hardware and speeds exceeding 200 Mbps as key advantages.

A growing number of carriers now offer Wi-Fi free of charge, absorbing the cost as part of the passenger experience. That trend poses a challenge to Ryanair's ancillary-revenue-driven model. O'Leary has repeatedly said passengers 'won't pay one Euro each to use the internet,' especially on short flights.

With more than 30 airlines worldwide announcing or implementing Starlink deals, the clash highlights a strategic divide. While legacy carriers see high-speed connectivity as a competitive necessity, Ryanair appears content to prioritise cost discipline over onboard digital services, even at the risk of public sparring with the world's richest man.