AI-cloned voices of tech billionaires are now telling pedestrians to take Cybertrucks and undermine democracy.
Pedestrian signals in Palo Alto, Redwood City, and Menlo Park play AI-cloned voices of tech CEOs, confusing and entertaining locals
In a bizarre and hilarious twist on everyday tech, traffic lights in parts of California have been hacked to talk—and not just in any voice. Pedestrians in Palo Alto, Redwood City, and Menlo Park reported hearing traffic signals speak with the cloned voices of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Many crosswalk signals in the U.S. offer audible instructions for the visually impaired. These made the devices particularly attractive targets for hackers, who reportedly overlaid the official walking prompts with satirical phrases using AI-generated deepfake voices of the two tech moguls.
Videos flooding TikTok and Instagram show startled (and laughing) pedestrians reacting to Musk’s voice saying things like:
“Hi, I’m Elon Musk. Want to be my friend? I’ll give you a Cybertruck. I swear!”
Zuckerberg’s audio was darker, reportedly including:
“Thanks for helping me make the world less safe for the LGBTQI+ community.”
Another TikTok clip recorded Musk’s voice announcing:
“Welcome to Palo Alto, the home of Tesla. They say money can’t buy happiness… maybe. But it can buy a Cybertruck, and that’s pretty cool, right?”
The three cities confirmed multiple incidents, with 12 crosswalks in downtown Palo Alto affected the most. Authorities quickly deactivated the signals as a precaution and launched a cyber investigation into how the system was breached.
So far, it appears the original safety instructions for the visually impaired remained functional, only supplemented by the rogue AI voice clips. But officials are still verifying whether any critical accessibility functions were compromised.
As clips go viral, the prank has sparked laughter, disbelief, and criticism — and only adds fuel to the already controversial reputations of Musk and Zuckerberg. Some call it a clever joke, others see it as a cautionary tale about the abuse of AI and the vulnerability of public infrastructure.
Whether you’re walking through downtown Palo Alto or scrolling through TikTok, one thing’s clear:
California’s traffic lights are no longer just telling you when to walk—they’re roasting tech billionaires in the process.
