Tech Titans Targeted: Hacked Crossings Mock Musk and Zuckerberg

Silicon Valley's pedestrian crossings were recently hacked, playing spoof messages from tech giants Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, prompting an investigation and temporary suspension of the audio functions.

In a quirky act of digital mischief, pedestrian crossings across northern California have been hacked to deliver humorous messages impersonating tech billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Authorities in Silicon Valley are probing the incident, which led to the disabling of the audio functions typically used for pedestrian instructions like "walk" or "wait."

The unexpected messages began surfacing over the weekend in towns such as Palo Alto, Redwood City, and Menlo Park, the latter being the location of Zuckerberg's sprawling Meta headquarters. One of the messages, mimicking Musk's voice, humorously proposed to gift a Tesla Cybertruck to anyone willing to be his friend, whereas a Zuckerberg impersonation cheekily stated, "real ones call me The Zuck."

Investigations are ongoing to determine the source of the messages and the method used to infiltrate the crossing signals. Pedro Quintana, a representative of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), noted that around 10 pedestrian crossings in Menlo Park and Palo Alto had been compromised. These crossings are now operating under a timer mechanism, and the buttons which activated the spoof messages have been disabled.

The playful messages caught the attention of passersby across Silicon Valley, where both Musk's and Zuckerberg's enterprises flourish. In one viral clip, a Musk impersonator humorously welcomes attendees to Palo Alto, home of Tesla's operations, stating, "You know, they say money can't buy happiness and... I guess that's true. God knows I've tried." Another message from a fake Zuckerberg opened with self-introduction before diving into a monologue about integrating AI into everyday experiences.

Neither Musk nor Zuckerberg has publicly commented on the incident. The city of Palo Alto confirmed to the BBC that at least 12 crossings within its downtown area were affected. Meghan Horrigan-Taylor, a spokesperson for the city, revealed that the tampering was first flagged by a city employee on Saturday, with indications suggesting the breach occurred the previous Friday. She mentioned that audio features had been temporarily disabled until repairs were finalized, but other traffic signals in the city were unaffected, indicating that the issue was localized. Reports also indicated that several crossings in Redwood City were similarly hacked, joining the ranks of this lighthearted tech prank.