tech

Elon Musk offers kid $5k to take down Twitter account tracking his plane

Published 11:03 28 Jan 2022 GMT

Home tech

Get our Pub Quizzes and latest news straight to you by clicking here »

Twitter: The gift that keeps on giving

Tesla’s Elon Musk has offered a random kid $5k to take down the Twitter account he is using to publish the location of the billionaire’s plane. Twitter account @ElonJet, has allegedly been using advanced technology to track Musk’s private jet for months. The account has racked up 118k followers - but now the SpaceX founder has realised. https://twitter.com/ElonJet/status/1486471951606599683 The account appears to use bots to collect air traffic data which is available to the public anyway. However this is not some business insider spying mission, nor a giant conspiracy to take down the world’s elite. Instead, one teenager named Jack Sweeney is responsible. Sweeney has also allegedly set up 15 other accounts that use the same method to track planes across the globe. Aside Musk’s plane, Sweeney also runs @celebjets which tracks the likes of Kylie Jenner, Tom Cruise and Oprah Winfrey. https://twitter.com/CelebJets/status/1486385589188497410 Although Musk has now requested that the account be removed - and he’s even willing to pay the teenager $5k for the service. However, for a man worth ¢238.5 billion, a measly $5k seems a little cheap. Musk’s message allegedly stated: “Can you take this down? It is a security risk.” Sweeney replied: “Yes I can but it’ll cost you a Model 3 only joking unless?” Musk then said: “I don’t love the idea of being shot by a nutcase.” https://twitter.com/CelebJets/status/1486502689001377800 Musk eventually offered the kid $5k but Sweeney has his head screwed on and asked for more. He replied: “Any chance to up that to $50k? It would be great support in college and would possibly allow me to get a car maybe even a Model 3.” Musk reportedly agreed to consider the terms - which honestly he could probably find beneath a sofa cushion - but then never got back in touch. https://twitter.com/ElonJet/status/1485815234988318721 As of writing, Musk still hasn't been back in touch with Sweeney.