ieExplains: Why Elon Musk can’t buy Ryanair despite his online jibes
The war of words between the two men kicked off last week after Mr O’Leary said he wouldn’t be installing SpaceX’s Starlink internet across Ryanair’s fleet. Picture: Dan Linehan
The online sparring between the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, and Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary has reached near-fever pitch, with the Tesla boss going so far as to ask his followers on X, formerly Twitter, whether he should buy the budget airline outright.
The war of words between the two men began last week after Mr O’Leary said he would not install SpaceX’s Starlink internet — also owned by Mr Musk — across Ryanair’s fleet because of the overall cost of the system, as well as added fuel costs from the antenna mounted on the roof of the cabin.
He estimated the additional cost of adding the service to the cost-conscious airline would be approximately $250m (€215m) a year.
Following this, Mr Musk said Mr O’Leary was misinformed, to which the Ryanair boss responded by branding him an “idiot”, adding that he knows nothing about the airline industry.
Mr Musk then shot back, calling Mr O’Leary an “utter idiot” who should be fired in a post on X. When a user suggested the billionaire buy Ryanair, he responded, “good idea”.
Mr Musk went on to publish a poll on X asking if he should purchase Ryanair and “restore Ryan as their rightful ruler”.
He has previously shown, with his acquisition of X, that he is willing to spend heavily to personally acquire companies and, with a net worth of over $700bn, could easily afford Ryanair if money were the only consideration.
After all, the budget airline has a market capitalisation of €30bn. However, acquiring Ryanair would not be as straightforward as buying Twitter.
No.
Under EU regulations — Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No. 1008/2008 — airline ownership and control are tightly restricted as part of licensing requirements. According to the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), which oversees these rules as they apply to Ryanair, member states and/or nationals of member states must own “more than 50% of the undertaking and effectively control it”.
If an airline fails to meet this requirement, it risks losing its licence to operate within Europe.
When assessing ownership, airlines must also provide details of the beneficial owners of shares held by nominee or trust companies to the IAA, including passport copies to prove citizenship.
Elon Musk is a citizen of South Africa, Canada, and the US. He is not a citizen of any EU member state and, as a result, would not be allowed to take a controlling stake in, or full control of, Ryanair as he did with Twitter.
This issue came into sharp focus during the Brexit process, when Ryanair restricted non-EU nationals from buying the group’s Dublin-listed shares. After Brexit, the proportion of shares owned by EU citizens fell from 54% to 40%.
In March last year, Ryanair removed the restriction on non-EU nationals purchasing shares after it established that EU citizens once again owned more than 50% of the company’s share capital.
However, other restrictions remain.
Again, no.
Ryanair’s board of directors has the authority to act to ensure the company complies with EU regulations and to prevent “ordinary shares held in Ryanair Holdings by non-EU nationals from reaching a level which could jeopardize its entitlement to continue to hold or enjoy the benefit of any licence, permit, consent or privilege”.
As a result, Ryanair operates a separate register for ordinary shares held by non-EU nationals.
Following Brexit, the board decided that all ordinary and depositary shares held by or on behalf of non-EU nationals would be treated as restricted shares. Holders of these shares cannot attend, speak, or vote at annual general meetings and have no influence over decision-making.
These voting restrictions remain in place.
As a non-EU national, Mr Musk would only be eligible to buy restricted shares and would therefore have no say in how the company is run.
According to Davy Stockbrokers, Société Générale Gestion SA, a French investment bank, owns 4.8% of the airline, with Artisan Partners LP owning 4%. Michael O’Leary is the third-largest shareholder, also holding 4%.
His stake increased following a bonus he received during 2025, which allowed him to purchase 10m shares at €11.12 each. As of Tuesday morning, Ryanair shares were trading at just under €29 each.
FIL Investments International holds 3.5% of the company, while Rothschild & Co Wealth Management owns 3% of Ryanair shares.
In-flight internet is becoming an increasingly important market for SpaceX’s Starlink system. More than two dozen carriers — including United Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Lufthansa — are rolling out the service across their fleets.
The service appeals more to long-haul and full-service airlines. However, Ryanair, which operates mainly short-haul flights across Europe, does not see value in adding the system.
Ryanair would be a significant customer for SpaceX as Europe’s largest airline. As of January 5 this year, the company had a fleet of 643 aircraft and expects delivery of a further 300 Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft by 2034.
The airline carried 206m passengers in 2025.
Securing a carrier like Ryanair to install Starlink would represent a deal worth millions, making it unsurprising that Mr Musk has focused attention on the airline.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
