Overview
- O’Leary used a Dublin press conference to brush off Musk’s X poll as bluster and said a U.S.-led acquisition is not on the table.
- He said Ryanair bookings rose about 2–3% over five days and the carrier turned the row into an “Idiots” seat sale.
- Musk’s poll on X drew hundreds of thousands of votes with roughly three quarters in favor of a purchase, and Ryanair’s shares briefly rose.
- The core dispute remains unresolved: Ryanair cites about a 2% fuel burn hit and $200–250 million in annual costs, while Starlink engineers say modern terminals add roughly 0.3%.
- EU rules require EU-majority ownership of airlines, which O’Leary underscored as the key barrier to any Musk control of the Irish carrier.