Elon Musk offered Florida student $5K to stop tracking his private jet, student claims
Jack Sweeney at UCF used his own IT and coding skills to make a bot that has more than 100,000 followers
What does it feel like to be a college student looking through your phone and all of a sudden, Elon Musk DMs you?
University of Central Florida student Jack Sweeney knows, according to FOX 35 of Orlando.
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"It was just crazy, the whole thing. I couldn’t believe it," Sweeney told the station.
But this was no social call: The Tesla CEO had a bone to pick with Sweeney – and a Twitter bot that he created called "Elon Musk's Jet," located at @Elonjet.
The bot tracks Musk's private jet and tweets its location.
Musk reached out to Sweeney to ask him to take it down. Even offering him $5,000.
Sweeney said no.
Musk expressed his concern about being tracked.
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"I don’t love the idea of being shot by a nutcase," Musk reportedly him.
Sweeney happens to love planes and used legal websites that track plane transponders. He combined the info with his own IT and coding skills to make the bot. The account now has more than 100,000 followers.
"I’d put in so much work and time, and it’s something I enjoy doing and 5K doesn’t seem like a lot for how much I get out of it and I enjoy doing it," Sweeney told FOX 35.
He did ask Musk to up the offer to $50,000. He also asked for an internship.
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Musk reportedly turned him down and the conversation ended.
Sweeney says he can still track Musk's plane despite some privacy measures that have been taken.