Imagine tuning into what appears to be a live Tesla event only to hear Elon Musk's AI-generated voice encouraging viewers to invest their cryptocurrency in a questionable scheme promising substantial returns.
It captivated a large audience and sparked discussions about online security and trustworthiness.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during the unveiling of the new Tesla Model Y in Hawthorne, California on March 14, 2019. (Photo : FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
Elon Musk Deepfake Sparks Cryptocurrency Scam on YouTube
On YouTube Live broadcast today, there was a deepfake of Elon Musk promoting a scam involving giving away cryptocurrencies.
In this five-hour livestream, Engadget reported that viewers were encouraged by an AI-generated version of Musk's voice to deposit their cryptocurrency into a suspicious website.
The video was made to look like a live broadcast from a Tesla event but has now been taken down. Before it was removed, it attracted more than 30,000 viewers, some of whom might have been bots, and became popular on YouTube's Live Now section.
The channel responsible for this, @elon.teslastream, had a badge showing it was verified as an Official Artist Channel, which suggests the account might have been hacked.
In recent months, there has been a notable increase in Elon Musk deepfake scams, each involving accounts pretending to represent the billionaire's various enterprises. The latest instance was labeled "Tesla unveils a masterpiece: The Tesla that will change the car industry forever."
Earlier this month, YouTube saw a surge of deepfake videos featuring Elon Musk, as scammers targeted space enthusiasts tuning in for SpaceX's latest Starship rocket launch.
Over 35 YouTube channels streamed content where an AI-generated voice resembling Musk promised to double the cryptocurrency deposits of viewers participating in the scheme.
These deceptive streams coincided with SpaceX's fourth test launch of its reusable Starship rocket. The authentic livestream documented the rocket's successful re-entry through Earth's atmosphere, culminating in a planned splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
One report also reveals that a YouTube channel impersonated an official SpaceX account, running three simultaneous live streams promoting the scam.
These streams amassed 170,000 viewers, likely bolstered by bots to create an appearance of legitimacy. It showed wide-angle footage of Musk speaking at an outdoor SpaceX event, with some strategically blurring his face to mask the deepfake's artificial nature.
Similarly, security experts Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk uncovered fake SpaceX YouTube channels in April. These channels featured live streams where AI-generated versions of Musk promoted a cryptocurrency scam promising to double investments, coinciding with a solar eclipse visible in North America.
Hong Kong's securities regulator also shut down a company that utilized deepfake videos of Musk on its website and social media platforms. The firm misleadingly asserted that Musk was involved in developing an AI-powered cryptocurrency trading service.
