A war of words ensued between and Ryan Air boss, Michael O’Leary following the Tesla owner’s suggestion to buy the budget airline after O’Leary rejected the idea of installing Musk’s Starlink satellite internet technology on his fleet of aircraft.

The Ryanair boss in rejecting the idea said that adding antennas to the jets would result in “2% fuel drag”, adding an extra $200m-$250m to its $5bn (£3.71bn) annual kerosene bill.

Musk said that interpretation was “misinformed” in a post, prompting a tit-for-tat exchange of insults, with each calling the other an “idiot.”

ThisinspiredRynair’s launch ofwhat it calls a “Ryanair’s Big ‘Idiot’ Seat Sale”. The advertising copy promises 100,000 seats are available from £16.99 for travel between February and April. It reads: “Only available for Elon Musk and any other ‘idiots’ on X’’. Book today before Musk gets one!”

was asked whether he would follow Lufthansa and British Airways in installing Musk’s Starlink satellite internet technology on his fleet of 650 aircraft.