Elon Musk Blocks Teenager Who Asked For $50,000 To Stop Tracking His Private Jet

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Elon Musk Blocks Teenager Who Asked For $50,000 To Stop Tracking His Private Jet

The billionaire initially offered $5,000 but now he seems to have well and truly stepped away from the negotiating table

Jake Massey

Jake Massey

A teen who asked Elon Musk for $50,000 as a condition to stop tracking his private jet claims he's now been blocked by the billionaire.

Jack Sweeney set up the Twitter account @ElonJet, which tracks the movements of the SpaceX and Tesla CEO's private plane and posts real-time updates using publicly available data.

The account has amassed almost 300,000 followers and Musk himself apparently reached out to 19-year-old Jack offering him $5,000 to take it down amid security concerns.

Recognising that he was dealing with one of the richest people on the planet, University of Central Florida (UCF) student Jack asked for $50,000, but he said Musk decided against paying him up, instead opting to block him.

Speaking to The Guardian, he said: "I created it [the account] because I'm really interested in Elon Musk, and Tesla and SpaceX - and it would be interesting to see where he goes and what business he's up to."

After initially being offered $5,000 to take it down, Jack tried to play hard ball.

He continued: "I asked for $50,000, he said 'thinking about it,' then after a while last week he said 'I don't think it's right to pay to take this down,' and just the other night he blocked me.

"I asked for 50 grand, because it would be nice to help for college and I also thought it would be cool if I could buy a Tesla, you know like a Model 3 or something."

Jack has been eager to cash in on his viral fame.
YouTube/NewsNation Now

Ah well, it looks like Musk ain't gonna be forking out for his Tesla anytime soon.

That said, Jack actually has 16 bots tracking the private jets of billionaires such as Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos - so perhaps one of those guys might set him up with a free Xbox or a Prime account or something.

Jack explained: "Lately I've been adding people that people want, like have requested.

"Drake - 'cause he has a giant, he has the biggest plane out of all of 'em. It's a giant Boeing."

And while he may have missed out on Musk's $5,000, Jack has landed a job offer.

Private jet business Stratos Jet Charters offered Jack a place on its tech development team after hearing of his venture, according to the New York Post.

Jack said: "It was pretty cool. They're (Stratos Jet Charters) UCF alumni, so it's pretty interesting.

"There's just a lot of UCF that think it's cool."

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Celebrity, Elon Musk, Twitter

Jake Massey
Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

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