Elon Musk to buy Ryanair over X poll verdict? 5 times the billionaire has taken crucial decisions based on votes

World's richest man Elon Musk on Monday conducted an X poll asking his followers whether he should buy airline company Ryanair, amid an ongoing feud with the Irish low-cost airline's CEO, Michael O'Leary.

In the poll posted on Monday, Musk asked if he should "restore" late founder Tony Ryan “as their rightful ruler.”

The poll received over 6,35,000 votes, with 77.5% opting for “F Yes” and 22.5% going for “No”.

On Friday, Musk called Ryanair CEO O'Leary an “utter idiot”, saying he should be fired, escalating a public spat that began after the airline boss ruled out installing Musk's Starlink internet service on Ryanair.

The two traded barbs online, with Musk posting the poll on X — a tool he has used several times in the past to make crucial decisions.

Here is a list of significant polls the billionaire has posted and the decisions he made based on the votes.

Buying Twitter (now X)

Months before he bought Twitter (now X) in March 2022, Musk had conducted several rounds of polls on the social media platform. While Musk asked his followers what to do, he continued quietly buying the company's stocks.

Meanwhile, he continued to ask questions like: “Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?"

"Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done?”

Selling 10% Tesla stock

On 6 November 2021, Musk posted a Twitter poll asking whether he should sell his 10% stake in Tesla. “I will abide by the results of this poll, whichever way it goes,” Musk said.

The poll received millions of responses, with 57% voting for yes. In November that year, Tesla said in an SEC filing that Musk had sold $1.1 billion of Tesla stock.

Stepping down as X CEO

Following his acquisition of X, Musk named himself the CEO of the company. However, a few months later, after facing continued outrage, he asked whether he should step down as X's CEO.

“I will abide by the results of this poll,” Musk wrote on 18 December 2022.

In his poll, over 57.5% respondents agreed he should step down, which Musk did in 2023.

Reinstating Donald Trump's account

Shortly after buying Twitter in 2022, Musk asked his followers whether Donald Trump, whose account had been banned, should be reinstated to the platform. The poll drew over 15 million responses, with nearly 52% voting yes.

Starting a political party

On 4 July 2025, after his dramatic fallout with Trump, Musk asked his followers if they wanted him to start a new political party. He had floated the idea of starting the America Party after a feud with Trump over his “One Big Beautiful Bill”.

As most voters supported the idea of forming a new political party, Musk wrote a day later, “By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!”

However, he has not spoken about his political party since then, and has recently reconciled with Trump.