Elon Musk wasn't happy when one netizen tracked the movements of his jet and shared it with the public. He banned the online user on his social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), but the latter seemingly didn't mind and moved to its rival platform, Threads.
Elon Musk Jet Issue Explained
Jack Sweeney, the college student behind the account @ElonJet on Twitter (now X), has been tracking Musk's jet. Many noticed his account appeared suspended because he hadn't posted anything on the platform for months.
Elon Musk banned the @ElonJet Twitter account in December last year, alleging that the tracker was a "direct personal safety risk." Prior to this suspension, Musk said he wouldn't ban the account as part of his "commitment to free speech."
Musk stated that any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone would be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation, not long after Sweeney's @ElonJet Twitter account was shut down.
Sweeney also operates several other trackers on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky that track the flight paths of private jets for notable personalities, including Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Jeff Bezos, and Kim Kardashian. Sweeney developed these automatic "bot" accounts, which compile information about air travel that is readily accessible to the general public and plot the locations of the planes.
Sweeney had previously turned down Musk's $5,000 offer to take down the tracker in favor of a $50,000 offer and an internship. This was before the suspension of his @ElonJet Twitter account.
Additionally, Twitter's private information and media policy was changed in December to state that sharing publicly available location information is only permissible after a "reasonable time has elapsed," - allowing Sweeney to open a new Twitter account and track Musk's jet with a 24-hour delay.
Where's ElonJet Today?
Sweeney has remained undeterred after being banned on X and turned to Musk's rival - Mark Zuckerberg's Threads. In July, he announced his presence on X's rival platform by writing, "ElonJet has arrived at Threads!"
In his second posting on the @elonmusksjet Threads, he asked the Meta founder if he could remain on the platform. He also shouted in his bio, asking his followers to check @zuckerbergjet, an account dedicated to tracking the location of Zuckerberg's private jet. However, the latter hasn't posted any live information yet. However, he has been actively tracking Zuckerberg's jet movement on Facebook and Instagram for some time. By calling out Zuckerberg, Sweeney seems to be triggering the Meta CEO into taking the same action as Musk.
Sweeney's choice to revive his real-time Elon aircraft tracker on Threads would exacerbate existing hostilities between the two social media behemoths. Twitter previously threatened to sue Meta for allegedly using its trade secrets and intellectual property in creating Threads. The two billionaires had also discussed taking their feud in a cage fight in August.
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