Elon Musk Is So Unlikable That His Feud With Random Airline Is Doing Wonders for Sales, Says CEO

"The trash talking began last week when the Irish airline, the largest in Europe, said it wouldn't install its fleet with Starlink technology, a satellite-based internet service operated by Musk's company SpaceX. O'Leary claimed that the Starlink antennas would add drag to the planes and drive up fuel costs. Musk could barely hide the sting he felt from the snub. He initially responded by calling O'Leary "misinformed" and added that he doubted Ryanair "can even measure the difference in fuel use accurately.""

"Smelling controversy, O'Leary went on a interview with the Irish radio station Newstalk to taunt the world's richest man. "I would pay no attention whatsoever to Elon Musk," O'Leary said. "He's an idiot. Very wealthy, but he's still an idiot. What Elon Musk knows about flights and drag would be zero." Musk, naturally, took the bait. O'Leary was no longer merely "misinformed," but a "retarded twat who needs to be fired," he seethed in response to the official Ryanair X account joking that wifi on planes was a scam."

"Musk even threatened to buy out the airliner and posted a poll asking his fans whether he should "restore Ryan as their rightful ruler" once he does. Clearly, Grok was not consulted before putting up the poll: the "Ryan" Musk is presumably referring to is the Irish billionaire Tony Ryan, who died in 2007."

Ryanair refused to fit its fleet with SpaceX's Starlink antennas, saying the hardware would add drag and increase fuel costs. Elon Musk responded by calling Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary "misinformed" and questioned the airline's ability to measure fuel-use differences. O'Leary publicly insulted Musk on radio and via Ryanair's social channels, calling him an idiot and mocking his knowledge of flight drag. Musk retaliated with personal insults, threatened to buy the airline, and posted a poll about restoring "Ryan" as ruler. Ryanair turned the spat into promotions, credited the confrontation with driving bookings, and launched a themed seat sale.

Read at Futurism