Several Silicon Valley pedestrian crossings have been hacked to play fake messages impersonating tech billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg , causing confusion and amusement among local residents. Elon Musk himself acknowledged the prank on social media, sharing one of the recordings with a laughing emoji.
Officials in Palo Alto , Menlo Park , and Redwood City confirmed that approximately 12 crosswalk signals in downtown areas were tampered with last Friday, replacing standard pedestrian instructions with unauthorized audio messages mimicking the tech moguls' voices.
Hacked signals featured satirical content mocking tech billionaires
The unauthorized recordings contained satirical content poking fun at both billionaires. One message in Musk's voice stated: "Hi, this is Elon Musk. Welcome to Palo Alto, the home of Tesla engineering. 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?"
Another recording impersonating Zuckerberg introduced him as "The Zuck" before making satirical comments about AI integration: "It's normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcefully insert AI into every facet of your conscious experience. And I just want to assure you, you don't need to worry because there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop it."
City officials have temporarily disabled the auditory features on affected crosswalks while they investigate how the tampering occurred. Pedro Quintana, spokesperson for the California Department of Transportation, confirmed that approximately 10 pedestrian crossings in Menlo Park and Palo Alto were switched to timer systems while repairs are underway.
The identity of those responsible for the hack remains unknown. Neither Meta nor Zuckerberg have publicly commented on the incident, though Musk's social media response suggests he found humor in the situation.
😂
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 15, 2025
pic.twitter.com/vfQnVPnHPN
Officials in Palo Alto , Menlo Park , and Redwood City confirmed that approximately 12 crosswalk signals in downtown areas were tampered with last Friday, replacing standard pedestrian instructions with unauthorized audio messages mimicking the tech moguls' voices.
Hacked signals featured satirical content mocking tech billionaires
The unauthorized recordings contained satirical content poking fun at both billionaires. One message in Musk's voice stated: "Hi, this is Elon Musk. Welcome to Palo Alto, the home of Tesla engineering. 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?"
Another recording impersonating Zuckerberg introduced him as "The Zuck" before making satirical comments about AI integration: "It's normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcefully insert AI into every facet of your conscious experience. And I just want to assure you, you don't need to worry because there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop it."
City officials have temporarily disabled the auditory features on affected crosswalks while they investigate how the tampering occurred. Pedro Quintana, spokesperson for the California Department of Transportation, confirmed that approximately 10 pedestrian crossings in Menlo Park and Palo Alto were switched to timer systems while repairs are underway.
The identity of those responsible for the hack remains unknown. Neither Meta nor Zuckerberg have publicly commented on the incident, though Musk's social media response suggests he found humor in the situation.
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