Run by Florida college student Jack Sweeney, the Twitter account @elonjet used to track billionaire Elon Musk’s private jet has now been suspended, CNBC News is reporting.
“Well it appears @ElonJet is suspended,” Sweeney tweeted earlier today while asking users to follow him on other platforms. “Follow on other platforms https://grndcntrl.net/links/,” he wrote.
Well it appears @ElonJet is suspended.
— Jack Sweeney (@JxckSweeney)
Sweeney started the account in 2020 because as a fan of Musk’s work at Tesla and SpaceX. “Even now, my dream car is definitely a Tesla,” he tweeted.
Last month, Musk tweeted that he was such a staunch advocate for free speech that he would not ban the plane tracking account, which he called a “direct personal safety risk.”
My commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)
Sweeney said he was surprised to find his account suspended, especially because Musk said he would not do it.
Musk had previously offered to pay the teenager $5,000 to take down the account because it was a safety risk, but he turned him down.
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
Your champion of “freedom of speech”, folks. Speech gets a pass if it’s a direct safety risk to others… but not himself.
Don’t even get me started on how even the “personal safety risk” claim is total nonsense since the tracking is based on an ADS-B transponder system that literally every plane above a certain class transmits during flight, and is easily accessible by the public with fairly basic equipment. Yes, even Air Force One has an ADS-B transponder, though of course it can be turned off when flying to a secret destination
What a hypocrite. Just like a politician. He’s up there with the ‘best’ of them
I read its moved to Mastodon.
Meanwhile, its my understanding is that when an aircraft files a flight plan, it becomes public record. Besides, with the transponders onboard, take your pick as to which app can track it in real time…
Mr Loopy getting weirder every day. Small wonder Twitter is in free fall and Tesla stocks tanking.