Musk renews feud with Ryanair CEO and demands to acquire airline
The ongoing dispute between Elon Musk and Ryanair Holdings Plc has extended into a second week, with the world’s wealthiest individual once more suggesting the possibility of acquiring the airline following his confrontation with its CEO. Musk shared a poll on X on Monday inquiring whether he should acquire Ryanair and “restore Ryan as their rightful ruler.” Earlier in the day, he reacted to a post by the low-cost carrier inquiring about the price to acquire them and reiterated his demand for the dismissal of Michael O’Leary, the longstanding CEO and public figure of the airline. The conflict between the two vocal leaders intensified last week when O’Leary stated he would not entertain the idea of implementing SpaceX’s Starlink internet throughout the budget airline’s fleet, citing concerns over fuel expenses due to the weight and drag of the antenna affixed to the cabin roof. Musk subsequently labeled O’Leary as misinformed, to which O’Leary responded by calling the billionaire a “idiot.”
On Tuesday, Ryanair shares experienced an increase of up to 2.3 percent. Ryanair boasts a market value of approximately 30 billion euros, which is three times that of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the largest airline group in the region. O’Leary, who has transformed the company into the largest budget carrier in the region over several decades, ranks among the airline’s top 10 shareholders. He was recently awarded a significant bonus package for meeting specific performance metrics on the stock, which increased by 55 percent last year. Musk is recognized for his directness in critiquing executives and companies, particularly on social media. Throughout the acquisition of Twitter Inc., now referred to as X, he consistently expressed his dissatisfaction with the company’s operations and the choices made by its then-CEO. Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion and proceeded to lay off its staff, which included senior executives.
Musk has previously surveyed his followers on various topics, including whether Tesla Inc. should accept Dogecoin as payment for its electric vehicles and whether he should divest some of his stake in the carmaker. He proceeded to offload shares in the company toward the end of 2021. The subsequent year, after acquiring a stake in what was then Twitter, he conducted a poll among users regarding their interest in an edit button for tweets, inquired if the company should transform its San Francisco headquarters into a homeless shelter, and solicited opinions on the potential revival of the short-form video service Vine. Months after conducting a poll regarding his potential resignation as head of the company, Musk appointed Linda Yaccarino as CEO in May 2023.
Acquiring an airline is a complex undertaking. British Airways owner IAG SA has decided to abandon its plan to acquire Spanish carrier Air Europa in 2024 due to concerns regarding competition. Meanwhile, Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc. and Frontier Group Holdings have encountered challenges in their attempts to merge. Significant regulatory hurdles exist when it comes to purchasing airlines, as many countries impose restrictions on foreign ownership of major carriers.
