In late 2022, Twitter permanently deleted an account that followed the whereabouts of Elon Musk’s private plane. This was despite the social media company’s owner’s promise that he would leave the account up as part of his “commitment to free expression.”

The @ElonJet account, which had gathered more than 500,000 followers, was deleted after the firm released a new set of rules that appeared to be meant to explain the deletion of the jet-tracking account. Musk restored past Twitter rule-breakers and ceased the enforcing of the platform’s standards against Covid-19 disinformation, prompting this action.

Elon calls it a threat to security

Dado Ruvić/ Reuters | Musk had claimed he was such a staunch advocate for free speech

Following Russia-Ukraine tensions, the account also began tracking the flight routes of other Russian oligarchs.

In October, Musk paid $44 billion for Twitter, and he has been vociferous in his attempts to defend free expression on the website. Musk asserted in early November that he was such an ardent supporter of free speech that he would not prohibit the plane monitoring account, which he described as a “direct threat to personal safety.”

Twitter workers may have gotten conflicting instructions internally. Sweeney published a series of tweets on December 10 alleging that his account had been shadow banned, which limits the account’s reach on purpose.

ElonJet account suspended

Jack Sweeney/ Getty | Elon Musk says he is taking legal action against the holder of a Twitter account

Jack Sweeney discovered that his Twitter account, @ElonJet, which tracked Elon Musk’s private aircraft trips, had been banned when he awoke this morning to a message informing him that the account had been permanently suspended.

The 20-year-old University of Central Florida student created @ElonJet as one of several flight-tracking bots that use the ADS-B (Automated Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast) technology to track flight trajectories. As of this morning, though, just @ElonJet was blacklisted.

Sweeney knew he was risking Musk’s ire by publishing the allegedly leaked internal memo. He stated, “From the beginning, he wanted me to vanish.” (Musk offered the student $5,000 to deactivate the account earlier this year. Sweeney, who previously told Rolling Stone that he created Musk’s Twitter account as a fan, declined.)

Sweeney also ran accounts dedicated to tracking the private flights of other public figures like Bill Gates, former President Donald Trump, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. All three of those accounts have been suspended.

Sweeney told CNBC that these accounts were banned for violating Twitter’s rules against “platform manipulation and spam.” He has not heard from Musk or his team directly, and his biggest takeaway from experience has been that Musk “doesn’t follow his word,” he said.

Federal Aviation Administration

GETTY IMAGES/ BBC | Sweeney said he intends to continue the work of @ElonJet elsewhere

Elon Musk is attempting to conceal his private jet journeys, even though his flight data is accessible online and reasonably straightforward.

His Gulfstream plane, registered through an LLC he owns, was tracked landing in Austin on Wednesday evening using ADS-B Exchange, an internet tracker. On Thursday afternoon, it started off again in the direction of the northwest.

ADS-B is available online to everyone. The website utilizes flight information sent by federal legislation to display thousands of commercial and private aircraft trips throughout the globe. While Musk has lately claimed that such tracking creates a security concern, ADS-website B addresses this position.

The billionaire and new owner of Twitter appear to have enrolled in a program offered by the Federal Aviation Administration called Limiting Aircraft Data Shown, or LADD, in an effort to restrict the information displayed about his aircraft. FlightAware said on its website that it does not provide flight information for Musk’s plane per the owner’s request.

An FAA and ADS-B Exchange spokeswoman did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The places where Musk’s private plane lands have been accessible to the public for years through websites that receive and track FAA-mandated flight data transmissions.

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