Jack Sweeney, the individual behind the account that tracks Elon Musk’s private jet in real-time, has found a new platform on Mark Zuckerberg’s Twitter alternative, Threads. This move comes after Sweeney’s suspension from Twitter last year. In his first post on Thursday, Sweeney announced the arrival of ElonJet to Threads, delighting his 21,000 followers. The account, with the handle @elonmusksjet, has been diligently monitoring the movements of Musk’s private jet using publicly available data.
Twitter’s Suspension of ElonJet Account and Musk’s Response
In December, Twitter, which is owned by Elon Musk, suspended the ElonJet account. Musk himself threatened legal action against the account’s operator, claiming that a “crazy stalker” had mistakenly followed his son. However, Musk had previously expressed his commitment to free speech, even in the context of potential personal safety risks. Despite this, Ella Irwin, Twitter’s Vice President of Trust and Safety, allegedly requested that the account be filtered and made less visible to users.
Declining Tesla CEO’s Offer and Threads’ Rapid Rise
Sweeney, a 20-year-old student at the University of Central Florida, made headlines when he revealed that he turned down a $5,000 offer from Tesla’s CEO in 2021. The offer was an attempt to persuade Sweeney to shut down his bot account. Meanwhile, Threads, a platform owned by Meta, has quickly gained a substantial user base, posing a direct challenge to Twitter. In just a few hours, it attracted millions of users, including notable figures like Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, and Democratic US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Threads aims to capitalize on Twitter’s recent tumultuous decision-making under Musk’s leadership.
No Immediate Response from Sweeney, Twitter, or Meta
As of now, Jack Sweeney, Twitter, and Meta have not responded to Reuters’ request for comment regarding these recent developments.
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