00:00Creator Hunter Peterson is going viral for allegedly raising $88 million to save Spirit
00:04Airlines. But we did some digging and there's no real money collected. Here's how a viral joke
00:09turned into the high-stakes strategy behind Spirit 2.0. To understand why people are pledging
00:17millions to a TikToker, you have to understand the carnage at the airport. On Saturday, May 2nd,
00:22thousands of travelers were stranded, finding out in real time that Spirit wasn't just delayed,
00:26it was gone. That's right, Spirit Airlines has officially closed for good. While people are
00:31arguing over whether to blame the White House or the war in Iran for spiking fuel prices,
00:36analysts are citing that we have to go back to the pandemic to see what happened. Because in 2019,
00:40Spirit was profitable, but the pandemic broke their high-volume model. They reportedly lost $2.5
00:45billion over four years, leaving them no cash to hedge against rising oil costs. But the final blow
00:50came when a $500 million bailout collapsed and a federal judge blocked the JetBlue merger,
00:55meaning Spirit was a dead asset walking. Then came Hunter Peterson. You might recognize his voice
01:00from Hanke Star Rail or Smite 2, but this week, Hunter is currently playing his most high-stakes
01:06role yet. Hey there, Hunter Peterson, potential future CEO of Spirit Airlines. He said it all
01:10started as a joke, previously going viral for a marathon of discomfort, where he flew Spirit for
01:1424 hours straight. So it was a no-brainer when he saw the headlines that the airlines shut down,
01:19posting a thought experiment that now has over 3 million views.
01:22Now, if we took only 20% of them and paid basically the average fare of a Spirit Airlines flight,
01:28we could buy Spirit Airlines.
01:29Within 48 hours, his site, Let's Buy Spirit dot com, reportedly crashed from a 1,000% surge in
01:35searches. And by Sunday, he told his followers he was genuinely crashing out. Why? Because even with
01:40a terrible website, he states he built in an hour, the numbers were exploding.
01:443.4 million views here. 1.4 million views here.
01:47The site went from 2 million in pledges to over 88 million in a matter of days. But here's the
01:52small
01:52catch. The creator seems to be moving with professional caution, clarifying in his comments,
01:57we've taken on $0. These are all non-binding pledges. Basically, just a digital pinky swear
02:03counter. Meaning over 120,000 people have expressed an intent to invest in what some are calling a bell
02:08out by the people. Now, reports State Hunter originally joked about using Venmo, but he quickly
02:13walked that back once he realized the SEC doesn't have a sense of humor.
02:17I'm not going to use the Venmo anymore. That was kind of a joke.
02:19So until the legal strategy is clarified and the website is working again, he's sticking to
02:24registering intent to buy, making a new social media account Spirit 2.0 to keep those interested
02:29updated. But that hasn't stopped the questions. While some fans are saying I'll gladly endorse you
02:34as CEO, others are skeptical, asking, why do we want to do this? I don't think I get it.
02:39So what is the actual plan for Spirit 2.0? We nationalize Spirit Airlines.
02:45Hunter is reportedly pitching the Green Bay Packers model, the only community-owned team in
02:50the NFL. Essentially, it is a bell out by the people for the people and a bold challenge to
02:54the status quo of private equity. And while nothing is set in stone, he has been posting ideas of how
02:59this will work. This includes the possibility of every patron getting one vote, regardless of the
03:04amount pledged, with the average pledge amount sitting around $600. There's also a possibility
03:09your pledge amount determines your share of the profit, but it doesn't give you more power.
03:13It should be about the vote. It shouldn't be about how much money you have. And he seems to
03:18really be aiming to do this with no outside venture capital. We probably will, but it will have to be
03:23something where it's like, we'll take on your money, but then we will buy you out. And it seems
03:27Hunter knows $88 million won't buy an airline that needs $1.7 billion to stay airborne. But by proving he
03:33has a guaranteed audience ready to pay, he's turned a dead brand into a community-led buyout powered by the
03:38people. But there is a little bit of a reality check. Even if Hunter gets the cash, he doesn't
03:43actually have an operating company yet. And in the aviation world, you can't just buy planes and start
03:48selling tickets. You need an air operator certificate from the FAA. And since Hunter is starting from
03:54scratch, he'd have to apply for a brand new certificate, a process that experts say can take
03:58years and millions of dollars in legal fees just to prove to the government you're safe enough to fly.
04:03So do you think Hunter can successfully start a movement to reverse billionaire other companies?
04:07Share your thoughts below and follow what's trending for more updates.
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