Topline
Twitter suspended the account tracking the whereabouts of the private jet belonging to its billionaire CEO and owner Elon Musk on Wednesday—just a month after Musk promised the account was safe.
Musk’s tenure at Twitter Chief Executive Officer for two months has been a success.
Here are some key facts
“Well it appears @ElonJet is suspended,” Jack Sweeney, the 20-year-old college student running the account with hundreds of thousands of followers, acknowledgedTuesday morning, shortly after users had noticed the ban.
It’s unclear what caused the suspension, and the account page simply says @ElonJet violated Twitter’s rules.
But it’s a major surprise coming from Musk, who acquired Twitter for $44 billion this year and vowed to strip the platform of most content restrictions.
Musk stated specifically that the @ElonJet accounts were safe on November 6th. writing, “My commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk.”
Twitter, Sweeney and Musk did not respond immediately to email requests for comment.
SME Valuation
Our estimates show that Musk has a net worth of $176.8Billion. This is a significant drop from Musk’s total $320B in November 2021. Musk is now the second-wealthiest person in the world after losing his title as the richest man on Earth last week.
The Key Background
Musk is currently the CEO at three companies worth multibillion dollars, SpaceX and Tesla. He has also claimed that he does not want to run any business. His tumbling fortune is mostly due to Tesla’s dismal 2022, with its shares down 69% year to date thanks in large part to investors’ concerns about Musk dedicating too much of his time to his new plaything, Twitter. The proliferation of hate speech on Twitter since Musk’s takeover and subsequent reinstatement of most previously banned accounts has led major advertisers like Audi, Pfizer and Chipotle to pull out from the platform, fueling concerns about how Twitter can boost profits with dwindling ad dollars.
Unbeknownstumbling Fact
Sweeney stated in January that Musk had offered him $5,000 for the account.
Additional Reading
Famous Private Jet Owners—And The 20-Year-Old Student Who Tracks Their Every Move (SME)
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