Watch: Crosswalk buttons hacked to play hoax Musk, Zuckerberg recordings

On April 15, it was reported that crosswalk buttons in three cities in California have been deactivated after being altered to play fake audio recordings pretending to be Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. Videos circulating online demonstrate the altered crosswalk buttons in Redwood City, Menlo Park, and Palo Alto, playing voice clips mimicking the technology moguls instead of the usual pedestrian alerts.

One of the recordings claims to be Zuckerberg, stating, “Hi, this is Mark Zuckerberg, but real ones call me the Zuck.” The recording humorously mentions inserting AI into daily experiences and assures listeners that resistance is futile. Another recording, allegedly Musk, offers Cybertrucks to pedestrians in return for friendship.

A Palo Alto city representative confirmed that 12 crosswalks in the area were affected by the prank, with the voice-over systems now disabled. Similarly, Redwood City reported four tampered crosswalks. Authorities are investigating the hacking of the audio systems and the culprits behind the prank.

City officials emphasized that tampering with public infrastructure, including crosswalk signals, is illegal and endangers public safety. The impacted cities assured that the signal operations remain unaffected, reminding motorists to be cautious around pedestrians.