Elon Musk suspended the Twitter account that used publicly available flight data to track his private jet’s comings and goings. But, instead of quashing interest in his whereabouts, he accidentally inspired an entire Reddit page dedicated to keeping tabs on his jet.
The subreddit r/ElonJetTracker has taken off after the Twitter account @ElonJet got the ban hammer. Those using the chain are using the same public data to track his plane’s whereabouts.
Contributors to the Reddit thread are also monitoring what the Twitter CEO is doing to keep his jet out of the public eye. Musk suspended the accounts of journalists reporting on this issue, as well as those who are linking to the r/ElonJetTracker SubReddit. Redditors found Musk is removing his jet’s data from tracking apps.
Jack Sweeney, who had run the @ElonJet Twitter account, was asked by Musk over the summer to close the account. The multi-billionaire offered Sweeney $5,000 to shut it down, but the 20-year-old college kid felt he was being lowballed. He asked for a Tesla or $50,000 to help with his bills, but Musk reportedly responded by blocking him.
Sweeny’s other flight-tracking accounts, as well as his personal Twitter, have since been suspended. Musk claimed he is taking legal action against Sweeney.
Now that Musk owns Twitter, Redditors say he is abusing his power as CEO. They also christened him with a new moniker: “Space Karen.”