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A depressed 'Elon Musk' asks CA pedestrians "Will you be my friend?" Promises them a free cybertruck [1]

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Date: 2025-04-15

Press a button on a crosswalk in three cities in the Bay Area of Northern California, and you will hear a voice that sounds remarkably like that of a famous tech bro, now unhappy with his lot. A man who many once admired as a tech pioneer (fairly or unfairly). But who has now lost his mind and a good chunk of his fortune.

This is how Rachel Maddow reported it (video at the bottom).

MADDOW: "In Silicon Valley, in the Northern California towns of Palo Alto, and Menlo Park, and Redwood City, there is something going on with the crosswalks. Instead of the normal automated voice telling you to wait until it was safe to walk, instead this other thing now happens. And I want to tell you before you hear this, this is not the real voice of Elon Musk."

Next, the viewers can hear one of these crosswalk messages:

AI ELON: "Wait. Hi. This is Elon Musk. Welcome to Palo Alto, the home of Tesla Engineering. You know they say money can't buy happiness, and … yeah … I guess that's true. God knows I've tried. But it can buy a Cybertruck. And that's pretty sick — right? Fuck, I'm so alone."

Maddow reiterates it is satire.

MADDOW: "That is obviously not the real voice of Elon Musk. It appears to be an AI-generated clone of Elon Musk's voice. People have apparently somehow hacked into the crosswalk systems in this handful of town in Silicon Valley, so in these towns when you push the crosswalk button you get a message like that one. Or one like this."

She plays the message:

AI ELON: "Hi. I'm Elon. Can we be friends? Will you be my friend? I'll give you a cybertruck. I promise. Okay, okay ... look ... you don't know the depravity I would stoop to just for a crumb of approval. I mean, let's be real. It's not like I had any moral convictions to begin with — right?

There's more:

MADDOW: "There's another one that says, 'Hi. This is Elon Musk. And I'd like to welcome you personally to Palo Alto. You know, people keep saying cancer is bad. But have you ever tried being a cancer. It's fucking awesome'."

Bring it! Few deserve to be laughed at more than Musk.

Maddow reports that it is not just Musk being ridiculed

MADDOW: "There's another with a fake AI voice that sounds like President Trump. And the Musk voice starts talking about how he feels about Trump. And then the Trump voice interrupts and says, 'Sweetie, come back to bed.' That one's super creepy."

Other tech oligarchs get the same treatment.

MADDOW: "There's also a couple of these things that feature not Elon Musk but instead the fake voice of Mark Zuckerberg … claiming credit for undermining democracy. And making life miserable for trans people. And cooking our grandparents brains with AI slop."

Maddow says it is so far unknown who generated these messages and how they did it. However, it is obvious why they did it.

Then, to ice the Musk scorn cake, she mentions the free Tesla 'debadging' station set up outside a Tesla dealership in Seattle over the weekend. There, helpful volunteers removed the emblems of Tesla owners who now regret their choice. They also offered to replace Tesla branding with a different car brand — for example, the Audi four-ring logo.

If you were not in the area, the 'debadgers' offered a toll-free number, 1-866 EFF MUSK. This is a live number. A message gives callers instructions on DIY Tesla debranding. Alternatively, pissed-off Tesla owners can visit www.teslaregret.com to get information on debranding and other assistance in dealing with TRS (Tesla regret syndrome).

Laughing at tyranny does not make it go away. But if there is one thing fascists lack, it is a sense of humor. Diminishing their self-importance does much to puncture their ambition. It is akin to the brave child who points out that the Emperor has no clothes. At worst, it's a good start.

(Here is the video of Maddow's show. The relevant part starts at 2:50)

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/4/15/2316663/-A-depressed-Elon-Musk-asks-CA-pedestrians-Will-you-be-my-friend-Promises-them-a-free-cybertruck?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web

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