2 weeks Ago By Saihaj Madan
People walking at Silicon Valley were taken aback over the weekend when crosswalk signals at several intersections started playing voices that sounded like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Authorities say the crosswalk audio systems were hacked in multiple cities, including Palo Alto, Redwood City, and Menlo Park, as per a report by USA Today.In downtown Palo Alto, a social media user named Bulou Varanisese shared a video showing a crosswalk that played a message that sounded like Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Palo Alto and Menlo Park crosswalks have been hacked with a humorous Elon Musk deepfaked voiceover. Better than vandalism I suppose. pic.
twitter.com/F8MQWxiO3i— Gary Mark⚡️Blue Sky Kites X 合 (@blueskykites) April 14, 2025 "Hi, this is Elon Musk. Welcome to Palo Alto, the home of Tesla engineering," the voice said.
"You know, they say money can’t buy happiness, and ...
I guess that’s true. God knows I’ve tried. But it can buy a Cybertruck and that’s pretty sick, right? Right? (Expletive), I’m so alone.
"City officials in Palo Alto told Storyful that 12 intersections were affected. The audio features have been turned off while the systems are being fixed. The city believes the tampering happened last Friday.
A similar message was heard in Menlo Park. Videos of a crosswalk playing a voice that sounded like Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg was also doing the rounds. The California Department of Transportation told the Los Angeles Times that it is working with Menlo Park officials to investigate the incident, which happened near Meta’s headquarters.
Crosswalk buttons 🚦 in several cities on the Peninsula appear to have been hacked - playing prank messages using voices that sound a lot like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. This is one of several in Redwood City @KTVU pic.twitter.
com/oAukJoqGHj— Betty Yu (@bett_yu) April 13, 2025 Also Read: Art Weston Catches 153-Pound Alligator Gar, Eyes World Record"Hi, this is Mark Zuckerberg, but real ones call me 'The Zuck.' It’s normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcefully insert AI into every ..
. facet of your conscious experience," the voice said. "And I just want to assure you, you don’t need to worry because there’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop it.
Anyways, see ya."In Redwood City, officials confirmed that four intersections had also been compromised. While the audio clips have gone viral online and have gathered humorous reactions from the users, local officials seem to be treating the situation seriously due to concerns about public safety and system security.
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