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By Joe Edwards
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Elon Musk has found himself in yet another online skirmish after low-cost airline Ryanair’s CEO dismissed Starlink’s in‑flight Wi‑Fi, sparking a public debate that quickly spread across the platform.
The Context
The dispute began after Michael O’Leary reportedly labeled Musk an "idiot" and "misinformed" over Ryanair’s reluctance to install Starlink Wi-Fi, arguing that Starlink antennas would create a two‑percent fuel penalty costing Ryanair about between $200 million and $250 million each year.
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Musk replied that O’Leary miscalculated by a factor of ten, while also urging his removal from Europe’s largest airline.
What To Know
Ryanair’s official account also teased Musk on X following reports of the social media platform—which Musk acquired in 2022—seeing outages across the U.S., with users experiencing problems posting and loading feeds, according to The New York Post.
"Perhaps you need Wi-Fi @elonmusk," the airline wrote—to which Musk responded: "Should I buy Ryan Air and put someone whose actual name is Ryan in charge?"
Reuters reported this week that Lufthansa, a rival airline, had agreed a deal to equip its planes with Starlink and Scandinavian carrier SAS opted for the provider last year.
O’Leary told the outlet: "You need to put antenna on the fuselage [and] it comes with a two percent fuel penalty because of the weight and drag.
"We don't think our passengers are willing to pay for Wi-Fi for an average one-hour flight."
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What People Are Saying
Several X users with Ryan in their username were quick to throw their hat into the ring should Musk follow through on the purchase proposal.
"I could be that Ryan," said user @RyanTorresTesla.
"I'm ready. But only compensation is in Dogecoin," user @ryanrhughes wrote.
"You have the opportunity to do something hilarious," wrote one user who shared an AI-generated image depicting Musk stood next to actor Ryan Gosling as the airline’s CEO.
X user @BryanMicon wrote: "Ok, hear me out: Buy it, put me in charge, my name is Bryan, and we'll paint B's in front of the Ryan. And I'll use grok to fix everything over there and live tweet all of it on X."
On Wednesday, VP of Starlink Engineering Michael Nicolls, said on X: "A 2 per cent fuel impact might be true for legacy terminals, but @Starlink's terminal is much lower profile and more efficient. Our analysis shows that the fuel increase to a 737-800 (which burns 800 gallons/hour) with our current design is about 0.3%."
What Happens Next
Whether Musk will actually pursue a takeover of the airline remains to be seen. It seems unlikely, given his other corporate interests, but Newsweek will have any news, should it happen.
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