Key Points
- The account tracked down the movements of the billionaire's private jet.
- Twitter has shut down the account.
- Mr Musk purchased Twitter for $64 billion earlier this year.
A Twitter account that tracked flights of Elon Musk's private jet has been suspended from the platform - despite the billionaire owner speaking of his "commitment to free speech".
"Well it appears @ElonJet is suspended," creator Jack Sweeney tweeted from his personal @JxckSweeney account.
Mr Sweeney attracted attention with his Twitter account that tracks the movements of the Tesla CEO's plane and even rejected Mr Musk's offer of $7,300 (A$10,000) to shut down @ElonJet, which had hundreds of thousands of followers.
Mr Musk had gone public saying he would not touch the account after buying Twitter in a $44 billion (A$64 billion) deal as part of his commitment to free speech on the platform.
On 6 November, Mr Musk tweeted: "My commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk."
Mr Musk's jet "flew from LA to Austin last night after my account was suspended on Twitter," he said in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
Flight-following websites and several Twitter accounts offer real-time views of air traffic, but that exposure draws pushback ranging from complaints to equipment seizures.
US rules require planes in designated areas have technology that broadcasts aircraft positions using signals that relatively simple devices can pick up.
Figuring out or confirming to whom a plane actually belongs can require some sleuthing, said Mr Sweeney, who filed a public records request with the US government in order to confirm Mr Musk's ownership of his plane.
