A deepfake video featuring Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk promoting a cryptocurrency scam has been circulating on the video streaming platform Youtube, eliciting surprise from the public and the man himself.
What Happened: On Sunday, an X user named DogeDesigner published a clip from the deepfake Tesla's livestream event, supposedly featuring Musk inviting viewers to deposit their cryptocurrency holdings in exchange for twice as many.
In the video titled "Tesla's unveils a masterpiece: The Tesla that will change the car industry forever," an abrupt cut leads to Musk asking viewers to scan a QR code (edited) that would lead them to a giveaway site. The deep-faked Musk tells viewers to do them during the so-called LIVE broadcast.
"At the site, you can deposit any amount of Bitcoin BTC/USD, Ethereum ETH/USD, and Dogecoin DOGE/USD without any registration. Once it is done, you'll receive the double the amount of cryptocurrencies deposited," the phony Musk said.
The video was still up on YouTube as of this writing, with the fraudulent channel strongly resembling Tesla's original Youtube channel.
Elon Musk expressed surprise at the developments.
Why It Matters: The video surfaces two days after the deepfake technology was applied to a video of Musk's interview with Chris Anderson at a TED Talk hosted in Vancouver earlier this year. Musk.
"Yikes. Def not me," Musk said after watching the video.
Last month, the Hong Kong Securities regulator warned the public about a fraudulent cryptocurrency trading platform called “Quantum AI,” which utilizes deepfakes of Elon Musk to lure victims.
Musk has been concerned about the prevalence of cryptocurrency spambots on social platforms like X and has provided solutions on several occasions, promising to “defeat the spam bots or die trying!”
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
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