Ryanair shares at a glance: Is there a risk of a surprise takeover by Tesla CEO Musk?

• Elon Musk is considering buying Ryanair
• Exchange of blows with Ryanair CEO
• Discussion of Starlink WiFi on airplanes

Elon Musk is once again making headlines in the aviation industry. The Tesla and SpaceX boss is thinking about buying the low-cost airline Ryanair. The idea came about after a public exchange with Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary, who sharply criticized Musk’s proposals for integrating Starlink into aircraft.

From mockery to thoughts of buying: Starlink on the plane?

On Newstalk’s podcast “The Hard Shoulder” on January 16, 2026, O’Leary stated: “I wouldn’t pay any attention to Elon Musk, he’s an idiot. Very wealthy, but he’s still an idiot.” O’Leary particularly criticized the high cost of installing Starlink antennas on Ryanair aircraft, which he said would be between $200 million and $250 million per year. In his opinion, Musk’s services are simply unaffordable.

Many other airlines – including Lufthansa – are currently making their planes fit for Starlink.

Musk’s reaction didn’t take long to arrive. He publicly called O’Leary “an absolute idiot” and added: “Fire him.” Shortly afterwards, a user on Platform X suggested that Musk should buy Ryanair and fire O’Leary – an idea to which Musk commented “Good idea”.

In response to an ironic X-post from the Ryanair account that rejected the introduction of Wi-Fi on planes, Musk responded again and suggested that he might take over Ryanair and put a person named Ryan at the helm. “How much would it cost to buy you?” he wrote, adding: “I really want to put a Ryan at the head of Ryan Air. It’s your destiny.” Shortly afterwards, Musk started a survey on his X profile asking whether he should buy Ryanair.

Should I buy Ryan Air and put someone whose actual name is Ryan in charge?

– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2026

With a current market value of around 30 billion euros, Ryanair would be quite affordable for Musk as the richest person in the world – however, according to EU rules, only Europeans are allowed to be majority owners of airlines in the Union. Ryanair comes from Ireland.

In the survey, a good three quarters of the more than 900,000 participants were in favor of buying the airline. The surveys that Musk initiates at X are mostly in his favor, simply because many of his critics have left

Rich through stocks

Musk also once joked about buying Twitter before buying the short messaging service for around $44 billion in 2022 and renaming it X. His fortune is currently estimated by the financial service Bloomberg at $681 billion. It consists mainly of shares in the company he manages Electric carmanufacturer Tesla and its SpaceX holding. Musk also took a survey before restoring then-former President Donald Trump’s account shortly after purchasing Twitter.

Financial and strategic perspectives

For Musk, the purchase of Ryanair could represent a strategic investment in order to establish Starlink across the board in commercial aviation. However, experts see significant challenges: In addition to the high installation costs, regulatory hurdles and shareholder approval would have to be overcome. Ryanair remains in the headlines and speculation zone.

It remains to be seen whether Musk can move the markets with his controversial ideas – so far, however, the low-cost airline’s shares have reacted calmly and recently closed on the Dublin Stock Exchange with a minimal premium of 0.10 percent at 28.83 euros. On Tuesday it temporarily lost 0.8 percent to 28.60 euros.

Editorial staff at finanzen.net with material from dpa-AFX

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