In 2021, a college student made headlines for refusing a $5,000 offer to cease tracking Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk's private jet. Now, this tech-savvy person has reemerged on Meta Platform Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg's social media platform Threads.
Jack Sweeney, the teenager who gained notoriety for his tracking activities, is again active on Threads. His account elonmusksjet has racked up 127,000 followers. It appears he has resumed tracking and is still in pursuit of the Tesla he once attempted to negotiate in exchange for stopping his tracking activities. Just last week, the account posted on Threads, "Landed in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. Approximate flight time: 3 hours and 40 minutes." Although he has another account tracking Zuckerberg, Musk seems to be his main target.
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Sweeney's meticulous monitoring of the movements of Musk's private jet gained public attention. His actions shed light on the changing world of online privacy in today's digital age, showcasing how people with coding skills can access and disseminate detailed information about where others are traveling.
In the midst of his online tracking escapades, Sweeney also engaged in a months-long exchange with "Shark Tank" star Mark Cuban over the X, formerly Twitter, account @MCubansJets, which he set up to monitor Cuban's flights.
Cuban initiated the conversation with Sweeney in February via a direct message on Twitter. He inquired, "Are you not concerned about safety issues with tracking jets? Not everyone on this platform is stable. Many can be irrational and dangerous. You tell me what you want so that I can end this risk to my family's safety."
Sweeney argued that the accounts did not pose a significant security threat, as the data was already accessible on public air traffic tracking websites like the ADS-B Exchange. He clarified that he simply shared this data on Twitter through automated bots that scraped information from the websites. Sweeney was open to the idea of deactivating some of the accounts but not without something in return.
In subsequent months, Sweeney expanded his tracking endeavors to include a diverse array of aircraft, monitoring flights associated with celebrities such as Tom Cruise and Taylor Swift, as well as political and tech figures like former President Donald Trump and Zuckerberg. Sweeney indicated that setting up these accounts required some effort initially, but he can now establish them in 15 minutes.
Sweeney agreed to suspend the @MCubansJets account in the spring after Cuban offered support for his business ventures. Sweeney disclosed that he no longer posts this data on X but continues to track the billionaire via his Discord account.
Cuban attempted to entice Sweeney by stating, "By ending this you have me as a friend for life" and suggested a potential friendship with Musk, which he insinuated could be more valuable than a Tesla. He also said, "Someday you may start a business and you would have my help."
Cuban shared his email address with Sweeney, but the teenager expressed disappointment with the offer.
Sweeney asked Cuban for a face-to-face meeting at a Dallas Mavericks game, a team he acquired in 2000 for approximately $280 million. Cuban agreed to the meeting proposal.
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