Despite Elon Musk’s “commitment to free speech,” the Twitter account that tracked his private jet is now permanently banned. Musk subsequently threatened Jack Sweeney, the 20-year-old Floridian college student who created the account using public information, with legal action. Additionally, Twitter’s terms of service now prohibit sharing live details on users’ whereabouts (especially the CEO). Here’s everything you need to know about the Elon Musk private jet tracker ban.
Sweeney ran several now-banned accounts tracking private jets using public information.
Sweeney’s account, @ElonJet, gained popularity in early February 2022 when Musk offered him $5,000 to shut it down. Sweeney counter-offered with $50,000, which Musk refused. Sweeney created several more bot accounts that tracked private jets, including Bill Gates’, Jeff Bezos’, and Mark Zuckerberg’s personal aircraft.
So, what changed between Musk’s November 6 proclamation of free speech protection and now? The billionaire alleges the bot is directly responsible for an incident on the evening of December 13. “Last night, car carrying [Musk’s son] lil X in LA was followed by a crazy stalker,” Musk tweeted. “[…] Legal action is being taken against Sweeney & organizations who supported to harm my family.”
Elon jet tracker moved to Mastodon.
After Twitter suspended Sweeney’s account, he created a new account for the bot on Mastodon. “Elon gave me no warning…. Plus he suspended all of my accounts, half of which track aircraft,” Sweeney tooted. (Toots are Mastodon’s version of tweets.) Mastodon is a new open-source social media alternative to Twitter that gained popularity shortly after Musk took over.
Musk’s wallet is hurting.
At publication, there is no official word on the legal action against Sweeney that Musk threatened. However, the new Twitter CEO quietly sold 22 million shares of Tesla, raising $3.6 billion in cash. With this recent liquidation, Musk has sold off $40 billion worth of stocks in 2022. As a result, the electric vehicle manufacturer hemorrhaged value over the last week, with shares dropping nearly 13%. Since Musk assumed his role as a social media tycoon, he fell from the top of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He now sits at number two, behind Louis Vuitton CEO Bernard Arnault.
