Now that Elon Musk has invested billions of dollars into Twitter, many people are wondering what his vision will be for the social media company.
According to a US securities filing, the tech billionaire has become one of Twitter's biggest shareholders after purchasing a 9.2 per cent stake.
Loads of users on the app reckon he forked out the incredible sum of money just to ban the account of the teenager who was tracking his private jet trips.
lol Elon basically own twitter and I feel like he bought it to stop that kid from doing live updates of his plane
— BΣΛƧƬ MӨDΣ (@KingPoseidon_Ob) April 4, 2022
Did @elonmusk just buy 10% of twitter so that teenager with the bot that tracks Elon’s private plane could be deplatformed?
— Andrew (@DukeBonds) April 5, 2022
I like to think Elon Musk bought 9.2% of Twitter to stop @ElonJet from tracking his plane
— john (@0bungler) April 4, 2022
One person wrote: “Pretty sure Elon just spent $3B in order to ban the account of that kid who tracks his flights.”
Another user even proposed: “What if Elon Musk bought Twitter just to throw that kid who has been tracking his plane off the platform. Then sells his share in 5 yrs for a profit? Genius strategy.”
The account that tracks Elon's private jet even tweeted: “Did Elon start buying Twitter stock because of me (@JxckSweeney) telling him no?”
The teenager in question is 19-year-old Jack Sweeney, who made headlines after creating @ElonJet, which does what it says on the tin. It makes a post on Twitter every time the jet takes off and lands in a location.
Landed in Van Nuys, California, US. Apx. flt. time 2 Hours : 44 Mins. pic.twitter.com/SrpgjgDa9W
— Elon Musk's Jet (@ElonJet) February 28, 2022
Musk wasn't too happy about his jet's movements being broadcasted to the public, even though the information is freely available to anyone who looks it up.
In a bid to silence the jet gazer, the SpaceX founder offered Sweeney $5,000 to shut it down. Sweeney declined and demanded $50,000 instead.
Musk knocked back Sweeney’s request and blocked him on Twitter.
In January, the 19-year-old defended creating the account and said he wasn't invading Musk's privacy.
This account has every right to post jet whereabouts, ADS-B data is public, every aircraft in the world is required to have a transponder, Even AF1 (@AirForceTrack) Twitter policy states data found on other sites is allowed to be shared here as well. pic.twitter.com/Wol8O1DRiq
— Elon Musk's Jet (@ElonJet) January 18, 2022
Sweeney wrote: “This account has every right to post jet whereabouts, ADS-B data is public, every aircraft in the world is required to have a transponder, Even AF1 (@AirForceTrack) Twitter policy states data found on other sites is allowed to be shared here as well.”
The teen has since launched similar accounts, which follow the moves of other high-profile celebrities as they jet set around the world.
The young tech genius is also monitoring flight patterns belonging to wealthy Russian individuals.
Leonard Blavatnik's Jet N737LE Landed in Bedford, Massachusetts, US. Apx. flt. time 2 Hours : 24 Mins. pic.twitter.com/G8FormBo8V
— Russian Oligarch Jets (@RUOligarchJets) April 6, 2022
He launched the account ‘Russian Oligarch Jet’s’ shortly after the invasion into Ukraine began and has since earned more than 430,000 followers.
After the US demanded that Putin’s inner circle have their possessions frozen, Sweeney told CBS MoneyWatch he hopes his account can assist with tracking down Russia's most elite.
"It would be pretty cool to see one of their planes seized," he said.
He added: "People want these people tracked down and have their assets tracked down and to take their yachts and jets.”
Featured Image Credit: Alamy. YouTube/NewsNation Now
Topics: Elon Musk, Technology, Twitter, Social Media, Russia, Ukraine
