Revealed: How a college student's tracking led to Elon Musk's billion-dollar acquisition of Twitter
By Team Asianet Newsable | First Published Feb 12, 2024, 12:03 PM ISTAccording to a Bloomberg report detailing the forthcoming book Battle For The Bird, Elon Musk's pursuit of acquiring Twitter commenced subsequent to Parag Agrawal's refusal to suspend the @ElonJet handle.
Parag Agrawal, the former CEO of Twitter, potentially set in motion Elon Musk's eventual takeover in January 2022 with a seemingly simple decision, as per a Bloomberg report on the upcoming book Battle For The Bird. Musk's interest in acquiring Twitter reportedly ignited after Agrawal refused his request to suspend the handle @ElonJet.
Operated by 21-year-old college student Jack Sweeney, @ElonJet tracked the private jet usage of Tesla CEO Elon Musk using publicly available information. Sweeney's actions reportedly irked Musk, prompting his quest to acquire Twitter. Sweeney also manages multiple accounts that monitor celebrities like Taylor Swift, who recently threatened legal action against him.
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Bloomberg reporter Kurt Wagner authored Battle For The Bird, set to launch on February 20th.
An excerpt from the book, according to the report, says, “Musk had also unsuccessfully petitioned Agrawal to remove a Twitter account that was tracking his private plane; the billionaire started buying Twitter shares shortly after Agrawal denied his request.”
Elon Musk acquired Twitter Inc. for $44 billion in October 2022, resulting in a significant exodus of Twitter staff through resignations and layoffs. Musk also suspended Jack Sweeney's Twitter handle @ElonJet, among other journalists. This action followed legal threats from Taylor Swift's attorney, who issued a cease-and-desist letter to Sweeney for tracking her movements, as reported by The Guardian.
In December of last year, the attorneys representing the Blank Space hitmaker accused the 21-year-old of participating in "stalking and harassing behaviours" due to his tracking of the American singer's jet activity.
The report cited attorney Katie Wright Morrone's letter, which stated, “While this may be a game to you, or an avenue that you hope will earn you wealth or fame, it is a life-or-death matter for our Client.”
The letter added that there was "no legitimate interest in or public need for this information, other than to stalk, harass, and exert dominion and control".
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