Michael O’Leary, CEO of European low-cost airline giant Ryanair, has long held a reputation for his wit, and in some cases, his short temper.
After getting hit in the face with a pie by environmental activists during a speech in Brussels in 2023, O’Leary wiped the remnants off his face and said how much he “love[s] cream cakes.”
To mess with President Donald Trump over the choice to impose tariffs on Ireland, O’Leary said Ryanair would cancel its order of Boeing planes and instead do business with the Chinese government-owned Comac if the offer “was cheap enough.”
Ryanair responds to Elon Musk’s insults with “Great Idiots” sale
The latest target of Ryanair and O’Leary’s mockery is Elon Musk. O’Leary called the Tesla entrepreneur turned right-wing activist and prominent supporter of President Trump “very wealthy, but […] still an idiot,” The Irish Times reported.
The Ryanair social media team also mocked the fact that X (formerly Twitter) experienced service disruptions in mid-January. In response, Musk went on to call O’Leary a “total idiot” and asked his 223 million followers whether he should “buy Ryan Air [he wrote the name incorrectly] and restore Ryan as their rightful ruler.”
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After several days of back-and-forth and Musk escalating his insults, the Ryanair social media team once again responded by saying that it was launching a “Great Idiots” sale specifically in honor of Musk.
“Perhaps Musk needs a break??” the @Ryanair account wrote on X in the late hours of Jan. 20. “Ryanair is launching a Great Idiots seat sale especially for Elon and any other idiots on ‘X.'”
The airline promised to mark down 100,000 of its seats to different destinations across Europe for €14.99 in each direction. The airline’s website has indeed been updated with offers at these prices to destinations such as Dublin, Manchester, and Cork, as well as mainland cities like Budapest and Bologna.
Ryanair CEOMichael O’Leary has repeatedly hit back at Elon Musk’s insults with clever quips.
How to score a deal through the Ryanair “Great Idiots” sale
Travelers need to purchase tickets by midnight on Jan. 22 for travel between now and April 30.
“Don’t thank us, thank that big ‘IDIOT’ Elon Musk,” the airline wrote further. “Book today before Musk gets one!”
Musk has yet to respond, but the ongoing feud helped draw attention to the airline and its routes in particular. Some social media followers confirmed that they have already booked flights through the “Great Idiots” sale.
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The feud has been followed closely by both Ryanair travelers and analysts speculating how the spat could affect Ryanair and Tesla stocks. The airline’s longstanding lighthearted, and in some cases insulting, social media strategy has, however, helped it find a new fan base among Gen Z travelers.
In the past, Ryanair trolled a passenger who complained about service on social media by asking if she would rather pay “€19.99 or €136,000,000?” for a private jet and posted that actress Sydney Sweeney was “much too old” for Leonardo DiCaprio, in reference to the long-running internet joke that DiCaprio rarely dates women older than 25.
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