Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary’s scathing attack on billionaire Elon Musk has escalated the war of words between the two outspoken businessmen. As name-calling and brutal roasts involving the word “idiot” continue between the two, the Irish carrier boss directly name-dropped the Tesla CEO in a fresh social media response published on Monday.

The major development comes after the SpaceX boss floated the idea of buying the budget airline. Musk’s swipe at Ryanair, in turn, followed O’Leary rejecting the proposal to install Elon’s Starlink satellite internet technology on hundreds of his aircraft after Lufthansa and British Airways introduced the high-speed internet option on board their respective fleets.

Ryanair CEO vs Elon Musk: Michael O’Leary announces press conference

The official Ryanair account on X announced Monday that CEO Michael O’Leary would be addressing the whole “Elon Musk Twitter Tantrum” at a press conference in Dublin on Wednesday, January 21.

The savage call-out quoting the Irish carrier’s boss read: “Ryanair CEO, Michael O’Leary has called a press conference at 10:00 tomorrow (Wed, 21 Jan) in Dublin to address (undress??) Elon Musk’s latest Twitsh*t.”

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Thereafter, it quotes O’Leary saying, “Musk knows even less about airline ownership rules than he does about aircraft aerodynamics.”

The unfiltered press release statement goes on: “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 one-way.”

“Buy now before Musk gets one!!!”

In yet another post shared around the same time, the Ryanair page reiterated the same call-out, describing Elon Musk as “that big IDIOT.” It went on to plug the link to “Ryanair’s Big ‘IDIOT’ Seat Sale,” while sharing an AI-generated, cartoonified illustration of Musk and Michael O’Leary.

The latter appears to be pestering Musk, as he holds up a board that reads: “I (heart) Ryanair.” Meanwhile, an irritated version of Elon Musk’s character, wearing a black T-shirt featuring the X icon, is seen holding a toy car in his hand. Miniatures of another car, a rocket and Earth have been placed beside both O’Leary and Musk, who are seen standing atop a pedestal base flashing the words “BIG IDIOTS.”

The 100K-seats offer included in Ryanair’s hilariously ludicrous ‘flash sale’ initiative will be effective in the months of February, March and April. The carrier’s website clearly states: “Book by 22/01/26 for travel between 22/01/2016 and 30/04/26.”

Michael O’Leary-Elon Musk feud over Ryanair-Starlink explained

The CEO spat commenced with a little question directed to O’Leary about whether he was planning to bring Musk’s Starlink on board his flights. Upon his rejection, the Ryanair CEO asserted that adding antennas to the jets would bring about “2% fuel drag,” expanding their annual $5 billion kerosene bill by an additional $200 million – $250 million.

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Musk eventually slammed the Ryanair boss’ analysis as “misinformed” in an X post. And soon, a virtual fire broke out between the two as they began their tit-for-tat war of hurling the word idiot” at each other. Matter spiralled even further when the Tesla and SpaceX boss called for O’Leary to be fired.

“Should I buy Ryan Air and put someone whose actual name is Ryan in charge?” the ex-DOGE head asked on X just a few days ago. Thereafter, he shared a quirky poll, and quipped that he should appoint a person named Ryan as the ‘rightful leader” of the airline after buying it.

Although his plans to “restore” order may find a shocking reality check in the simple fact that the airline was founded by late Tony Ryan in 1984, Musk has previously stood tall on similar threats. The biggest testament to it all remains his acquisition of then-Twitter in a subsequent $44 billion deal, which also followed through after an eerily resembling social media exchange.