Elon Musk Vs. Ryanair's CEO Just Turned Into A Betting Game - And Traders Are Now Wagering On A Full-Blown Takeover

A public war of words between Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) CEO Michael O'Leary has spilled into prediction markets.

Polymarket Weighs Musk-Ryanair Takeover Odds

On Friday, Bettors on Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction platform, are mullying the chances of Musk buying Ryanair.

At the time of writing, the contract showed traders assigning just a 9% chance, with odds falling sharply over time and remaining firmly in single digits.

The declining trend and low trading volume indicate that market participants largely view a Musk-led Ryanair takeover as highly unlikely despite the high-profile Starlink feud.

The bet follows an escalating dispute between Musk and O'Leary over Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet service for aircraft, which several major airlines have begun adopting.

Ryanair did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.

Starlink Dispute Sparks Public Feud

The clash began after O'Leary dismissed Starlink's value for Ryanair's short-haul, no-frills model, telling Reuters that passengers on one-hour flights are unwilling to pay for Wi-Fi.

He said that they don't think their passengers would be willing to pay for WiFi for an average one-hour flight, adding that installing Starlink would cost Ryanair between $200 million and $250 million annually.

Musk pushed back on X, writing that Ryanair would "lose customers to airlines that do have internet."

The SpaceX CEO also said, "I doubt they can even measure the difference in fuel use accurately, especially for a one hour flight, where the incremental drag is basically zero during the ascent phase due to high angle of attack."

O'Leary escalated the rhetoric in an Irish radio interview, saying people should pay "no attention" whatsoever to Musk, before calling him "an idiot."

Musk responded by labeling O'Leary an "utter idiot" and adding: "Fire him."

Fuel Costs And Technical Claims Enter The Debate

While speaking with Reuters, O'Leary also said that Starlink antennas impose a 2% fuel penalty due to weight and drag. SpaceX executives disputed that figure.

Michael Nicolls, SpaceX's vice president of Starlink engineering, said on X that internal analysis showed Starlink increased fuel burn by about 0.3% on a Boeing 737-800.

Musk replied: "Hmm, must be a way to get that down under 0.1%."

Starlink Adoption Divides Airlines

The dispute erupted as more European carriers embrace SpaceX's Starlink, which offers high-speed satellite internet on aircraft.

German airline Deutsche Lufthansa (OTC:DLAKY) announced plans this week to roll out the service, while Scandinavian Airlines operated its first Starlink-equipped flight a day later.

RYAAY maintains a stronger price trend over the short, medium and long terms with a high Momentum ranking, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Image by Markus Mainka via Shutterstock