Elon Musk offered a 19-year-old $5,000 to take down a Twitter account that tracks his private jet, report says
"Can you take this down? It is a security risk," Musk said to the owner of the Elon Musk's Jet account in a private message, per a Protocol report.
Elon Musk messaged 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 movements 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 message 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," according to Protocol.
Musk offered Sweeney $5,000 after a few messages 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 aggregating 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 comment. Insider was not immediately able to contact Musk.
The "Elon Musk's Jet" account shows the movements 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 message 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," according to Protocol.
Musk offered Sweeney $5,000 after a few messages 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 aggregating 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 comment. Insider was not immediately able to contact Musk.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.