Elon Musk slammed after '9-minute jet flight' from San Jose to San Francisco'

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By Asiya Ali

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Elon Musk has been criticized on social media for taking a nine-minute flight in his private jet from San Jose to San Francisco.

Users on social media monitored the Space X and Tesla CEO's private jet and revealed that he made the 35-mile journey that lasted nine minutes.

The flight took place back in May but drew attention this weekend after the flight map circulated on Twitter - which sparked a debate about the impact short journeys have on climate change.

"Elon Musk took a 9-minute flight to San Francisco from San Jose, which is 5 stops on Caltrain," user Hayden Clarkin tweeted, referring to a local commuter rail that links San Francisco with cities to its south. "I literally have no words," he added.

Check out the flight map below:

According to the map, the 51-year-old's plane flew some 35 miles from San Jose International Airport to San Francisco International Airport. Depending on the traffic, the journey can be driven in around 40 minutes.

As of this writing, the tweet amassed over 11,400 retweets and over 129,000 likes on the social media platform, with many other users expressing outrage over the carbon footprint left behind by the tech mogul.

One user wrote: "This is the same guy that made up 'hyperloop' to stop California from making a state-wide high-speed rail which would’ve provided access to public transportation for millions of Californians."

Another user commented: "Solutions for the climate crisis will not come from billionaires," while a third user exclaimed: "BUT IM SUCKING ON PAPER STRAWS."

A fourth chimed in: "It’s not even an hour drive like if he didn’t want to slum it with us mere mortals he could’ve at least gone and driven."

The world's richest man can afford the finer things in life, but his hypocrisy was laid bare after someone posted a tweet showing his 9-minute flight and another tweet from Musk himself proclaiming that "Tesla exists to help reduce the risk of catastrophic climate change".

Musk's jet backlash comes after several celebrities were criticized last month for using private jets to take short flights even while publicly declaring their support for combating climate change.

Kylie Jenner was deemed a "climate criminal" on social media after she posted about taking private jets for short, three-minute flights for trips that most people would make by car in around 45 minutes.

Featured image credit: APFootage / Alamy