The voices of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg were heard along the streets of Silicon Valley this weekend, but neither of the tech billionaires were in the vicinity.
The auditory instructions of some crosswalks in Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Redwood City, California were hacked last week to feature voices that sounded like Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, per videos shared online and obtained by USA TODAY.
Here’s what we know about the hacked crosswalk signals.
What did the crosswalk signals say?
Social media user Bulou Varanisese shared a video of her interacting with a crosswalk in downtown Palo Alto that resembled Musk’s voice over the weekend.
“Hi, this is Elon Musk. Welcome to Palo Alto, the home of Tesla engineering,” the crosswalk auditory instructions 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.”
A City of Palo Alto spokesperson told Storyful on Saturday that it was “determined that 12 downtown intersections were similarly malfunctioning,” suspecting that the tampering occurred on Friday. The audio features were disabled on the affected crosswalks until repairs can be made. City of Palo Alto staff did not immediately respond for comment when contacted by USA TODAY on April 15.
TikTok user Keagan B. posted a video, also this weekend, of her pushing a crosswalk button in Menlo Park, California, and then hearing a voice that sounded like Zuckerberg’s.
“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.”
Officials in Redwood City told Storyful that they had identified four locations where crosswalk features were hacked. Redwood City staff did not immediately respond for comment when contacted by USA TODAY on April 15.
The California Department of Transportation told the Los Angeles Times that officials were in talks with Menlo Park city staff to investigate the incident, which occurred near Meta’s campus.
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hacked crosswalk signals imitate Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg’s voices
