Elon Musk bans Twitter account tracking his private jet, threatens 20-year-old owner with 'legal action'

Elon Musk's commitment to free speech, it turns out, isn't as strong as his commitment to not having his private jet's flight data posted on the social network he just bought for $44 billion.

Musk has long been irritated by the automated account @elonjet, set up in 2020 by a young Elon Musk superfan named Jack Sweeney to post publicly available flight information for Musk's Gulfstream. Musk asked Sweeney to take the account down last year, then offered him $5,000 to buy it, explaining in a private message that he didn't "love the idea of being shot by a nutcase," Protocol reported in January. After he bought Twitter, Musk cited the account to highlight his avowed free speech absolutism.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.