In a bustling airport terminal, the atmosphere buzzed with the energy of hurried travelers, the low hum of announcements echoing in the background. Among the crowd sat Vince, a battle-worn Vietnam veteran, his weary eyes scanning the sea of faces. Clutching a worn duffel bag, he reflected on the sacrifices he had made for his country, only to find himself forgotten and homeless. The world around him moved on, oblivious to his struggles.
As Vince sat on the cold tile floor, he noticed a figure moving with an unusual urgency. It was Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur known for his groundbreaking ventures. Elon was pacing back and forth, frustration etched on his face as he spoke animatedly into his phone. Vince had heard of him, but seeing him in person was surreal. The billionaire was clearly in distress, grappling with a delayed flight that threatened to derail his plans.
Vince, accustomed to the chaos of airports, felt a pang of empathy. He had spent enough time in terminals to understand the ins and outs of travel, the little tricks that could make a difference. Without thinking twice, he shuffled closer to Elon, dropping a sarcastic remark loud enough for him to hear. “They never let you fix anything in time, huh? Travel problems can feel like a game, but it’s all rigged.”
Elon paused, glancing at the scruffy figure before him. “What are you talking about?” he muttered, still focused on his phone. Vince stood a bit taller, his voice steady. “It’s always the same at these airports. Call up, wait forever, and then they hit you with new fees. There’s probably a loophole they don’t want you to know about.”
Intrigued, Elon raised an eyebrow. “What’s your angle?” he asked, skepticism lacing his tone. Vince shrugged, a hint of a smile on his lips. “No angle. Just a lot of bad travel days myself. Trust me, there’s a better way to handle things.”
With a mix of curiosity and desperation, Elon decided to listen. Vince explained how to bypass the standard procedures, suggesting that Elon find someone who could expedite his rebooking. “You can’t deal with the standard reps; they’ll keep you waiting. Make it personal, and you’ll be where you need to be by the end of the day.”
Elon, still skeptical, decided to give it a shot. He called over a staff member, and to his astonishment, the rebooking process went smoothly, just as Vince had predicted. The tension in Elon’s face melted away, replaced by gratitude. “How did you know that would work?” he asked, genuinely impressed.
Vince shrugged again, a glint of pride in his eyes. “You learn things when you’ve been around long enough.” But before he could savor the moment, airport security arrived, targeting Vince for lingering too close to the gates. Sensing the impending trouble, Vince slipped away, expertly evading the guards.
Elon, now intrigued by the mysterious veteran, called after him, but Vince vanished into the crowd. Moments later, Elon received a call from his assistant, who informed him that Vince had already upgraded his ticket and made arrangements that the airline staff couldn’t manage. Shocked, Elon realized that the scruffy man he had just met was more than he seemed.
As he stood there, contemplating the unexpected turn of events, Elon felt a surge of respect for Vince. He decided to seek him out, offering a first-class ticket and a chance to work together. “You’ve got skills I need,” Elon said, sincerity in his voice.
Vince, taken aback, realized this was a moment of transformation. No longer just a homeless veteran, he stood on the brink of a new life, a chance for redemption he never thought possible. In that airport, amidst the chaos, two unlikely souls found a connection that would change their lives forever.
As Vince accepted the offer, he felt a flicker of hope ignite within him. Perhaps this was the beginning of a new chapter, one where he could finally reclaim his dignity and purpose. And for Elon, it was a reminder that true value often comes from the most unexpected places, if only one is willing to look beyond appearances.
Jack Sweeney
Jack Sweeney first learned that @ElonJet, his Twitter account tracking Elon Musk’s private jet travel, was banned when he woke up this morning to a notification telling him that the profile had been permanently suspended from Twitter.
The 20-year-old University of Central Florida student had set up @ElonJet as one of of a slew of flight-tracking bots, which use the ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast) system to monitor flight paths. But as of this morning, only @ElonJet had been banned.
(That changed shortly after publication of this story, when Twitter suspended Sweeney’s personal account — for violating rules “against platform manipulation and spam” — and some two dozen others he ran. By early evening, @ElonJet was back for a brief period, only to be suspended again.)
“I’m pretty surprised, especially after he put out a tweet saying he wouldn’t do it,” Sweeney told BuzzFeed News, referring to the @ElonJet suspension. “But I guess after the last commotion over the weekend, he’s probably not too happy about all that.”
Twitter: @elonmusk
The “commotion” Sweeney was referring to was his tweets in which he claimed that @ElonJet had been suppressed by Twitter’s moderation system as of Dec. 2. Sweeney posted a screenshot allegedly showing Ella Erwin, Twitter’s vice president of trust and safety, asking that team members “apply heavy VF [visibility filtering] to @elonjet immediately.”
BuzzFeed News was unable to authenticate the legitimacy of the screenshot Sweeney provided. The student claimed he was given it by an anonymous source via an untraceable burner email. Neither Musk nor Twitter’s press relations team, which reportedly no longer exists, immediately responded to a request for comment.
Sweeney knew he risked raising Musk’s ire by posting the purportedly leaked internal message. “From the beginning, he wanted me to disappear,” he said. (Musk earlier this year offered the student $5,000 to delete the account. Sweeney, who previously told Rolling Stone he set up the Twitter account because he was a fan of Musk’s, declined.)
The student titled his tweets on the supposed shadow ban his “Twitter Files” — the same thing Musk has been calling a series of Twitter threads, written by journalists of his choosing, on the internal workings of the company. “I’m sure that angered him,” Sweeney said. “But nonetheless, it’s still a surprise to many people after he publicly said he wouldn’t do it.”
@ElonJet’s creator said the account’s suspension showed the risk caused by a single, impulsive individual having total control of a social media platform. “It just shows that they can play the rules however they want to, really, for whoever they want,” he said.
He believed Twitter would try to excuse the ban as part of a broader crackdown on automated bot accounts, but he was surprised that the company didn’t give a reason for banning @ElonJet. “It could be really any number of things at this point, couldn’t it?” he said.
Later in the day, Musk offered his reasoning behind the suspensions (now official Twitter policy).
Twitter: @elonmusk
Sweeney said he intends to continue the work of @ElonJet elsewhere. “I’ll definitely be paying more attention to other platforms,” he said. He also told BuzzFeed News that he’s working on a website version of @ElonJet. The reason he’s pressing on with the project is simple: “It’s important to hold people accountable, no matter what side they’re on.”
The ban seemed to have energized Sweeney. “Now I’m going to keep going on forever,” he said. “I guess I can’t let him win now.”
