Jack Sweeney, a student at the University of Central Florida, has become a prominent figure at the intersection of technology and celebrity, first gaining attention for tracking Elon Musk’s private jet movements using publicly available flight data.
This initial venture into tracking led to a notable dispute with Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, yet Sweeney continues to be a central voice in conversations about transparency, data accessibility, and the lengths powerful individuals go to safeguard their digital privacy, now potentially securing naming rights for his university’s football stadium.
This story took an unexpected turn recently when UCF football head coach Gus Mazzan met Sweeney in Chicago. Mazzan captured the moment, sharing a selfie of the two on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption: “Hey, @elonmusk. I found the guy who’s been tracking your plane.” He added, “Glad to see @Jxck_Sweeney in Chicago!”
Sweeney, known for tracking celebrities such as Taylor Swift and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, seized the opportunity. He reposted the coach’s post on his own account and directly suggested to Musk: “Hey, @elonMusk, sponsor UCF’s stadium and consider making @ElonJet disappear.”
This idea immediately sparked heated discussions among online commenters and UCF fans. Despite the university already having existing commitments, the concept of a “SpaceX Stadium” quickly gained attention.
UCF entered into a 10-year naming rights agreement with FBC Mortgage in 2022 to name its on-campus football stadium, reportedly valued at nearly $20 million. Before becoming the FBC Mortgage Stadium, the venue was affectionately referred to as the “Inflatable Castle” for approximately two seasons following the expiration of the previous naming rights agreement in 2020.
Recently, Sweeney confirmed the sincerity of his proposal during an interview with FOX 35. He acknowledged the enthusiasm of fans regarding this possibility and mentioned comments such as “Just do it @Elon Musk” and “If you can make this happen, you’ll be the king of Orlando!!”
Sweeney discussed his connection to the university and the thematic alignment with Musk’s entrepreneurial projects, stating, “I’ve always had a deep affection for UCF. UCF truly offers numerous development opportunities for aerospace students, many of whom go on to work at the space center. But you know, when I saw him share that photo, I thought, ‘You know what? I think this idea is pretty cool.’”
Sweeney discussed the implications of such potential collaborations, confirming his commitment to follow through if Musk agrees to the deal, although he expressed skepticism about the likelihood of it happening but acknowledged it would be exciting if it did.
When considering potential names, Sweeney’s personal preference aligns perfectly with Musk’s portfolio: “Starlink Stadium,” he said. He also noted that other forms of sponsorship, potentially including in-stadium branding partnerships, would also constitute successful outcomes in his view.
As of now, Elon Musk has not made a public response on the X platform, despite being highly active there. FOX 35 has reached out to the UCF Athletics Department for comment but has not yet received a response.
The @ElonJet account, created by Sweeney in 2020 when he was still a teenager, automatically shares flight data for Musk’s Gulfstream G650ER jet, including flight paths, estimated fuel consumption, and carbon emissions, all derived from publicly accessible information.
The core of this technology relies on publicly available aircraft tracking data obtained through services such as ADS-B Exchange.
The conflict with Musk intensified in 2022 when the billionaire reportedly reached out to Sweeney, requesting the account’s shutdown due to primitive system and safety concerns, even offering $5,000 for Sweeney to cease his tracking activities.
Sweeney rejected the offer. He recalled the conversation, saying, “He reached out to me and asked, ‘Can you turn this off?’ Then he said he didn’t like the entire system, calling it primitive, and then he offered me $5,000 to shut it down.”
Sweeney believed the offer did not adequately reflect the effort he had put in, so he countered with a proposal of $50,000 plus an internship opportunity. According to reports, Musk rejected the offer, and the negotiations ultimately failed to reach an agreement. Sweeney explained the reasons for his stance, stating: I have invested a significant amount of work and time into this, which is something I enjoy doing, and $5,000 seems disproportionate to the value I derive from it, and I enjoy doing this.”
In December 2022, following Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, the controversy reached its peak. The @ElonJet account was permanently suspended. The platform stated that the account was suspected of violating social media platform rules, and Musk subsequently described it as a “physical safety violation.”
Following the account’s suspension, Sweeney ingeniously found a way to continue his work by creating a new account, @ElonJetNext, which posts the same public flight data but with a 24-hour delay, thus adhering to the platform’s updated policy on real-time location sharing.
At the time the account was suspended, the original @ElonJet account had accumulated over 500,000 followers, indicating significant public interest in tracking the movements of high-profile private jets.
Beyond technical and platform-specific aspects, Sweeney views Musk’s handling of the account from a broader principled perspective. In an interview with the Associated Press, he referenced Musk’s public stance on free speech, stating, “(Musk) says this is about free speech, but he’s doing the opposite.” This highlights the contradiction between Musk’s public statements and private actions when it comes to information involving himself.
Elon Musk isn’t the only high-profile individual Sweeney has encountered challenges with regarding flight tracking; he was also involved in a dispute with pop superstar Taylor Swift between December 2023 and February 2024.
Swift’s legal team sent Sweeny a cease-and-desist letter regarding an X account that specifically tracks her private jet flight data. According to reports, Swift’s lawyers demanded that he cease what they referred to as “stalking and harassment.”
Sweeney staunchly defended his actions, asserting that the information he utilized was public and that disseminating it served the public interest, adding that fans who contributed to the growth of accounts like TaylorSwiftJets and related subreddits were precisely the audience most interested in this data, and these tracking accounts consistently garnered more support.
He further cited external validation of public interest, stating, “When the U.S. Embassy in Japan expressed confidence that Swift could fly from Tokyo to the Super Bowl, it demonstrated public interest.” Sweeney’s position is that if the information is public, tracking and sharing it is a reasonable expectation: “Therefore, people should reasonably expect their jets to be tracked, whether by me or not, since it is public information.”
The conflict with Swift also drew comments from Musk, who sided with the singer. In February, Musk posted on X: “Sweeney is a terrible person. Taylor Swift has reason to be concerned.“ Sweeney quickly responded, referencing their past disputes: ”Don’t forget you offered $5,000 for me to stop tracking you and threatened to sue me, and now a year has passed.” This exchange highlights the shared perspective of powerful figures on tracking behavior and Sweeney’s consistent stance on data transparency.
Sweeney’s tracking activities haven’t been limited to Musk and Swift. He has created similar accounts for other billionaires and notable figures, including Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Kim Kardashian, and Donald Trump. These activities have led to repercussions on other platforms as well.
Recently, Sweeney reported the suspension of his jet-tracking accounts on Meta’s Threads platform, noting the complete removal of all his accounts dedicated to tracking jets without any prior warnings or communication from the company.
A Meta spokesperson confirmed the suspensions to Business Insider, citing privacy and safety concerns. They stated, “Given the risk of physical harm to individuals, and in keeping with the independent Oversight Board’s recommendation, we’ve disabled these accounts for violating our privacy policy.” This response echoes the concerns voiced by Musk and Swift regarding the potential dangers associated with sharing real-time or near-real-time location data.
The core of Sweeney’s activities lies in his belief in open access to publicly available historical information. He insists that his intentions are not to cause harm, but to uphold what he believes to be the “importance of transparency and public information.”
However, due to recent regulatory changes, the ability to access and disseminate such data is rapidly evolving. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has implemented new regulations that will significantly impact the ability to track private aircraft using previously publicly available information.
These changes stem from the 2024 Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act (legislation passed during the Biden administration), which requires the FAA to establish rules allowing private aircraft owners to conceal their personal information. The legislation grants the agency two years to develop such regulations.
Under the new regulations, private aircraft owners can now submit electronic applications to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requesting that aircraft registration information be removed from public view. This means that such data will no longer be made available to the public through the FAA’s standard services. Additionally, the agency is actively evaluating the possibility of defaulting such information to private status in the future.
The implications of these rule changes are far-reaching. As the background information indicates, this development “is almost certain to be the final straw for popular flight-tracking services (such as those created by Jack Sweeney).” The era of easily tracking the movements of private aircraft owned by celebrities and business tycoons using publicly available data appears to be coming to an end.
Musk and Swift have publicly referred to those who use such data for tracking as “threats,” and they may view these regulatory changes as acknowledgment of their concerns and as necessary steps toward enhancing personal safety.
Sweeney’s unwavering dedication to transparency fuels his persistence despite legal threats and platform bans, keeping the conversation alive, yet the regulatory landscape appears to be shifting in favor of the powerful figures previously under scrutiny, potentially limiting the public visibility of such information in the near future.
