Teen who tracked Elon Musk's private jet has moved his operation to Threads
Topics: Twitter, Threads, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg
Bec Oakes
Featured Image Credit: CNN / Win McNamee/Getty Images
Topics: Twitter, Threads, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg
Jack Sweeney, who got suspended on Twitter for tracking Elon Musk's private jet, is now continuing his plane-tracking operation on Threads.
"ElonJet has arrived to Threads!" read the college student's first post on Mark Zuckerberg's new Twitter rival.
Sweeney is one of more than 30 million people to have downloaded the app since its launch on July 6.
His new account, which uses the handle @ElonMusksJet, is off to a strong start, gaining more than 15,000 followers in just 24 hours.
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"I would like to post on Threads just as I do on Instagram," Sweeney told Insider.
He told the publication that he plans to update the Threads account manually for now but hopes Meta will create an auto-posting function in the future
"@zuck will I be allowed to stay," Sweeney wrote in a post, jokingly referring to the suspension of ElonJet and his other accounts on Twitter.
Sweeney first started tracking Musk's plane in 2020, gaining widespread attention for his efforts. His Twitter account, @ElonJet, had garnered nearly 500,000 followers before it was suspended.
His tracking efforts eventually expanded to include other celebrities and public figures such as former President Donald Trump, Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian.
And, funnily enough, the student also previously ran an account that tracked Threads owner, Mark Zuckerberg's private jet before all his accounts were suspended in December 2022 for violating Twitter's rules.
Elon Musk weighed in on the suspension at the time.
"Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation. This includes posting links to sites with real-time location info," Musk tweeted.
"Legal action is being taken against Sweeney & organisations who supported harm to my family," he continued in a post that followed.
Musk famously attempted to buy the account from Sweeney in 2021 for $5,000 but Sweeney declined the offer.
Twitter's private information policy was then updated to restrict users from sharing individuals' live locations.
Sweeney later returned to the platform, where he has since posted Musk's flight data with a 24-hour delay.
"I'm honestly hoping Twitter dies," Sweeney told Insider. "As I am hindered on there, you search for my name, seems I'm search banned."
However, the student does have one qualm with Zuckerberg's new app.
"The only thing that I'm unhappy about with Instagram and Threads is that I can't get my hands on the @ElonJet handle even though no one has it."