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'Cool free speech': Internet divided as Elon Musk vows to sue Jack Sweeney after man stalks son X's car

Jack Sweeney's account Elon Jet was suspended on December 14, with Elon Musk blaming the account for a man climbing on the hood of X's car

SAN FRANSISCO, CALIFORNIA: Elon Musk suspended Jack Sweeney's account, Elon Jet, on Twitter after a man reportedly stalked and climbed on the hood of the car his child was traveling in. The Twitter CEO claimed that his two-year-old son, X, was followed by a stalker in Los Angeles on Tuesday, December 13. 

Musk also posted a short video of the stalker on his account. The person was seen wearing a black hood and driving a white Hyundai. The tweet stated, "Last night, car carrying lil X in LA was followed by crazy stalker (thinking it was me), who later blocked car from moving & climbed onto hood. Legal action is being taken against Sweeney & organizations who supported harm to my family." 

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In a follow-up tweet, he added a video of the stalker and asked, " Anyone recognize this person or car?" In a now-deleted tweet, he also claimed, "Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation. This includes posting links to sites with real-time location info. Posting locations someone traveled to on a slightly delayed basis isn’t a safety problem, so is ok." However, It is unclear how Musk connected Sweeney's account to the incident, but both the account and Sweeney's personal account were suspended. Sweeney was famous for his account as it tracked the Tesla owner's jet and he was a fan too. However, in 2021, he was offered $5,000 to take down the account.

According to Daily Mail, "Can you take this down? It is a security risk. I don't love the idea of being shot by a nutcase," wrote Musk in a direct message to the 20-year-old in 2021. Sweeney responded with an ask for $50,000 and a Tesla, but the duo never came to a settlement. Though Musk assumed the post of Twitter CEO, he allowed the account to remain active and stated, "My commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk," reported Daily Mail. Sweeney had previously stated in October, "I personally think he won't do it because then the news would be all over it and he would be called a hypocrite." 

'Harassing Elon is not ok. '

Netizens, however, had a different point of view on the stalker incident and suspending the accounts. While one section of people were fully behind him, another called him out for his "free speech spiel." A user said, "So sorry that happened Elon, hope everyone is ok and safe." Another said, "This is not ok. Harassment online is not ok, harassment in person is not ok. Harassing Elon is not ok. Procecute harassment!" Another tweet read, "Dude, your plane’s flight plan is public info and is already tracked by multiple sites. Good luck with that legal action," while yet another chimed in, "Sweeney wasn't tracking your car's location, but Tesla sure was."

A user stated, "Glad your family is safe... btw, did you ever apologize to @SpeakerPelosi for questioning their stalker crime? Or change twitter terms to keep their family safe? suspend accounts? ??" Another stated, "Free speech absolutist sues college kid who tweets publicly available information." A person added, "Elon I’m very happy baby X is okay. I was surprised @ElonJet was allowed to be accessible this long especially as you continue to tackle more and more things there will be big risks. Hope the family stays safe." Another added, "Give me a break. You are just changes the rules for your own benefit and everyone sees it." Another chimed in, "Remember how you helped push a baseless claim and conspiracy about Yoel Roth? Should he sue you for getting death threats and having to flee his home?"

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.