Page 12 - IAV Digital Magazine #539

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
By Isobel Asher Hamilton
Elon Musk offered the owner of the "Elon Musk's Jet" account $5,000 to remove it, Protocol reported.
The account uses public data to track the location of Musk's private jet.
Its owner coun- tered with an offer of $50,000 but has not heard back from Musk.
Elon Musk mes- saged the owner of a Twitter account that tracks his private jet, with an offer of $5,000 if he took the account offline, the tech news site Protocol reported Wednesday.
The "Elon Musk's Jet" account shows the move- ments of Musk's private jet, using
bots that monitor publicly available air-traffic data.
According to Protocol, the owner of the account, a 19- year-old named Jack Sweeney, received a mes- sage in fall last year at 12:13 a.m. from Musk. It
said:
"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?" Protocol reported.
Musk said, "I don't love the
idea
of being shot by a nutcase," accord- ing to Protocol.
Musk offered Sweeney $5,000 after a few mes- sages back and forth, Protocol
reported.
"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," Sweeney responded, per Protocol.
According to the outlet, Musk said
he would think about it but has
not been back in touch.
When Sweeney told Musk where he was aggregat- ing the data from, Musk responded, "Air traffic control is so primitive," Protocol reported.
It's not clear whether Protocol viewed the Twitter messages.
Musk tweeted
earlier this month that social-media accounts tracking his
movements were "becoming a security issue."
Sweeney did not immediately respond when contacted out of hours for com- ment. Insider was not immediately able to contact Musk.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Elon Musk Offered A 19-year- old $5,000 To Take Down A Twitter Account That Tracks His Private Jet, Report Says