• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Teen Who Tracked Elon Musk's Private Jet Fears He'll Be Kicked Off Twitter Following The Billionaire's Takeover

Home> News

Published 19:11 26 Apr 2022 GMT+1

Teen Who Tracked Elon Musk's Private Jet Fears He'll Be Kicked Off Twitter Following The Billionaire's Takeover

Jack Sweeney, a 19-year-old student from Florida, is the coder behind the Twitter account @ElonJet

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

The teenager who tracked Elon Musk’s private jet has admitted he fears he could be kicked off Twitter following the Tesla billionaire’s takeover. 

Yesterday it was confirmed that a deal had been struck for Musk to buy the social media platform for a cool $44 billion, with the SpaceX founder saying he wants Twitter to be a better place for free speech, which he says is ‘the bedrock of a functioning democracy’. 

But there’s someone who isn’t quite so sure if their profile will still be welcome on the site, having created a bot that tracks the movements of Musk’s private jet. 

Jack Sweeney, a 19-year-old student from Florida, is the coder behind the Twitter account @ElonJet, which has more than 422,000 followers. 

Last year, Musk unsuccessfully tried to get Sweeney to shut it down, offering him $5,000 to do so. Sweeney made a counter-offer of $50,000, an internship or a Tesla Model 3, but Musk never responded. 

Advert

According to Sweeney, in January, Musk then blocked not only his personal account, but also the private jet account and the third account he made to track jets for SpaceX. 

This means the teenager is unsure whether or not his account will remain online in the wake of the buyout, telling Insider: "It's hard to think that he wouldn't do something.” 

However, Sweeney said he’d still be interested in making an agreement with Musk to take the bot down. 

"It would definitely have to be a pretty good deal now, because it's gone on for so long. Definitely a Tesla, fully paid for and everything.” 

Advert

But it seems Musk may not be getting rid of him anytime soon, having announced yesterday just before the deal was closed that he wants his ‘worst critics’ to remain on the platform. 

Elon Musk.
Alamy

Musk tweeted: “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because this is what free speech means.” 

After things were finalised, he also shared a statement about the purchase on Twitter, saying: "Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.

Advert

"I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans.

"Twitter has tremendous potential - I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it." 

If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]  

Featured Image Credit: @JxckSweeney/Twitter/Alamy

Topics: Technology, Elon Musk

Jess Hardiman
Jess Hardiman

Jess is Entertainment Desk Lead at LADbible Group. She graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

X

@Jess_Hardiman

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

5 hours ago
9 hours ago
  • 5 hours ago

    93% rated Amazon Prime show had Stephen King labeling it 'really smart' as fans binge all three seasons

    Fans were blown away by the 'unique' show, which even got Stephen King's seal of approval

    Film & TV
  • 9 hours ago

    Coca-Cola responds after Donald Trump makes shocking claim he's changing the recipe

    Americans could soon be tasting a new version of Coke as President Donald Trump intervenes

    News
  • 9 hours ago

    Donald Trump diagnosed with chronic vein condition after recent photos sparked health concerns

    The White House's physician has revealed that the 79-year-old received a chronic venous insufficiency diagnosis

    News
  • 9 hours ago

    Extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner tragically dies during stunt aged 56

    Felix Baumgartner is fondly remembered for one particular impressive stunt

    News
  • Teen who tracked Elon Musk's private jet on Twitter 'has been shadowbanned'
  • Twitter users left saying 'oh my God' after Elon Musk's latest AI unleashes 'sexy AI' mode
  • Elon Musk's $50,000 Neuralink brain chip explained as third patient has it implanted
  • Elon Musk's first Neuralink patient shows remarkable image he can draw with his mind 18 months after brain installation