Elon Musk acts as a guardian of free speech around the purchase of Twitter. But the exact tracking of the flight movements of his private jet apparently goes too far for him. After the operator has so far resisted financial offers, the billionaire shuts down the user account.
Twitter has suspended an account that documented the flights of its new owner, Elon Musk. “Account Suspended” read @ElonJet’s Twitter page. A reason for the suspension was not given. The user account, created by student Jack Sweeney, used publicly available data to automatically document the take-offs and landings of Elon Musk’s private jet. It had around half a million followers. Sweeney’s private user account has not been suspended – he continues to publish Musk’s private flights on other online platforms.
In the past, Musk, head of electric car maker Tesla and space company SpaceX, had offered Sweeney $5,000 to close the @ElonJet account. Just days after buying Twitter for $44 billion at the end of October, Musk pledged that his commitment to freedom of expression went so far that he would not close the user account on his private flights – even if it was a direct risk to his personal life represent security.
The multi-billionaire – currently the second richest person in the world behind French luxury goods mogul Bernard Arnault – has wreaked havoc on Twitter since the takeover. He fired top management and around half the workforce and unlocked suspended accounts like that of former US President Donald Trump.
Musk presents himself as a radical advocate of the right to free speech. Critics fear that hate speech and misinformation could skyrocket on Twitter under his leadership. According to media reports, Musk recently dissolved an advisory board that Twitter founded six years ago to fight hate messages, child pornography and discrimination. Numerous large advertisers have already turned away from Twitter.
