Back in 2021, a Florida teenager named Jack Sweeney got a message from Elon Musk with a simple request: stop tracking his private jet.
“Can you take this down?” Musk asked in a direct message on Twitter, now called X. “It’s a security risk.”
At the time, Sweeney, then 19, had built a bot account called @ElonJet that posted updates whenever Musk’s jet took off or landed.
The info came from publicly available flight data, and the account quickly attracted attention. Musk, trying to shut it down, offered Sweeney $5,000. The teen countered, asking for $50,000 or even a Tesla Model 3, saying it would help cover college expenses.
“I don’t love the idea of being shot by a nutcase,” Musk replied, before backing out. He also said Musk said it didn’t feel right “to pay to shut this down.” CNN Business has viewed the messages.
The Tracker Gets Banned
In late 2022, Musk changed course. After buying Twitter for $44 billion, he banned @ElonJet, saying the account posed a physical safety risk. Musk claimed that a stalker followed a car carrying his son in Los Angeles, mistaking it for him.
“Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation,” Musk posted.
Sweeney denied any link between his tracker and the incident. His personal account and dozens of others tracking celebrity and political jets were also removed from the platform. But by then, the damage to Musk’s image was done (mostly by himself), and the interest in tracking him only grew.
The Tracker Finds A New Home
Today, the tracker lives on Reddit under the community r/ElonJetTracker, which now boasts over 218,000 members. Discussions there are lively and often critical of Musk, especially when it comes to environmental concerns.
Users continue to track Musk’s Gulfstream G650ER using third-party services like ADS-B Exchange. Some noted the plane has had fewer public records lately, possibly due to Musk using the FAA’s LADD program or using official government aircrafts. Still, flight signals can be picked up, even without FAA support.
“I just saw it fly over with my own eyes,” one user posted, sharing radar evidence. Another added, “He’s been taking Air Force One. Flying on our dime now.”
One Offer Still Stands
Sweeney has said he’d be willing to take the account down, but not for money. Instead, he wants one thing: to fly with Musk and interview him mid-air.
“If he let me fly with him on his jet, record it, and talk about it – and maybe not even pay me the $50,000 – I would take it down,” Sweeney told The New York Post.
Musk hasn’t taken him up on it. Meanwhile, Sweeney’s bot accounts continue to track dozens of high-profile figures, including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. But none of them have drawn the same attention as the one focused on Musk.
“$5,000 is not enough for how much I get out of it,” Sweeney once said. “It doesn’t replace anything, like the enjoyment factor.”
Three years later, that enjoyment has turned into a movement—one that Musk still can’t shut down.