Elon Musk has suggested he could buy Ryanair and called for its chief executive to be fired amid a deepening spat between the pair.

The budget airline on Tuesday branded the Tesla chief executive an "idiot", and used the extraordinary row to promote its January sale.

Musk and Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary have been trading insults over the past week after O'Leary rejected the idea of using Musk's Starlink technology to provide wi-fi on flights.

The two are among the world's most outspoken business chiefs, with Musk the world's richest man with an estimated net worth of $769bn (£573bn), and O'Leary running Europe's busiest airline.

A statement on Ryanair's X account on Tuesday evening said: "Perhaps Musk needs a break??

"Ryanair is launching a Great Idiots seat sale especially for Elon and any other idiots on 'X'."

It came after Musk floated the idea of buying Ryanair several times on X in the past week, suggesting that O'Leary should be sacked for rejecting the use of Starlink to provide wi-fi on Ryanair flights.

EU-based airlines must be majority owned by people from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein.

The Irish airline also said O'Leary would hold a press conference in Dublin on Wednesday to "address" Musk's latest move.

Ryanair's social media is known for its punchy posts, often mocking criticisms of the airline or weighing in on current events.

Last week, after German airline Lufthansa announced it would install Starlink on its planes to provide all passengers with free wi-fi, O'Leary said Musk knew "zero" about flight aerodynamics.

He told Irish radio station Newstalk that passengers would not want to pay a small charge for wi-fi on an hour-long flight, and that Starlink hardware would increase fuel costs because of drag.

"We [would] have to put an aerial antenna on top of the aircraft. It would cost us about $200-250m a year, in other words about an extra dollar for every passenger we fly.

"We can't afford those costs. Passengers won't pay for internet usage... so we're not putting it on board."

O'Leary called Musk an "idiot", with Musk using the same insult in response.

Airlines have become increasingly important for Starlink, a network powered by thousands of low-earth orbit satellites.

The technology is already being rolled out by airlines such as Qatar Airways and United Airlines.

Both Musk and O'Leary have been known to court media attention with provocative public statements.