"Especially For Elon": Ryanair Roasts Musk With "Great Idiots" Sale

A day after Elon Musk asked Ryanair how much it would cost to buy them, the low-cost Irish airline mocked Tesla CEO with a "Great Idiots" seat sale. The airline is offering 100,000 one-way tickets to Basel, Birmingham, and Cologne for only 16.99 Euros (about Rs 2,000). "Buy one now before Musk gets one," Ryanair said amid the billionaire's ongoing feud with airline CEO Michael O'Leary.

O'Leary has called a press conference on Wednesday in Dublin to "address/undress" Musk's Twitter tantrum, which the airline called his "latest Twitsh*t." In a press release, O'Leary said, "Musk knows even less about airline ownership rules than he does about aircraft aerodynamics."

"Perhaps Musk needs a break? Ryanair is launching a Great Idiots seat sale especially for Elon and any other idiots on 'X'. 100,000 seats for just 16.99 Euros one-way. Buy now before Musk gets one," the airline posted, tagging Elon Musk.

.@elonmusk pic.twitter.com/c0rHEiJrIz

— Ryanair (@Ryanair) January 20, 2026

In another post referencing the sale, Ryanair wrote, “Don't thank us, thank that big ‘IDIOT' Elon Musk.”

Don't thank us, thank that big “IDIOT” @elonmusk ????

Sale now on????https://t.co/0c6IvsKyyB pic.twitter.com/JAxRNzaYTa

— Ryanair (@Ryanair) January 20, 2026

The war of words began last week when Michael O'Leary rejected Musk's Starlink satellite internet service for his planes. O'Leary said the service required an antenna that would reduce aerodynamics and raise fuel costs by 200-250 million Euros. In a Newstalk radio interview, he added that passengers who choose Ryanair for its low fares, would be unwilling to pay an extra 1 Euro per ticket for the service.

Musk responded by polling his X followers on whether he should buy Ryanair. Nearly 9 lakh people voted, and the majority supported the idea. The poll even joked that Musk would "restore Ryan as their rightful ruler," pointing to Ryanair co-founder Tony Ryan.

O'Leary then called Musk "very wealthy, but he's still an idiot", claiming the Tesla CEO had "zero" knowledge of running an airline.

Musk also called O'Leary an "utter idiot" on X, suggesting he should be fired, and continued to tease the possibility of buying Ryanair.

Ryanair's social media team has amplified the feud with its signature dry humour. They mocked Musk during an X outage with, "Perhaps you need Wi-Fi [Elon Musk]?" and said that in-flight Wi-Fi was propaganda that passengers weren't falling for.

While Musk's $681 billion net worth dwarfs Ryanair's market capitalisation of nearly $36 billion, a takeover is highly unlikely. EU law requires airlines to be majority-owned by EU nationals or member states. In the US, foreign ownership of airlines is capped at 25 per cent. O'Leary owns over $1.2 billion in Ryanair shares.