Deepfake Elon Musk promotes crypto giveaway scam on hijacked Tesla livestream
A deepfake Elon Musk reportedly appeared on a hijacked YouTube livestream of a Tesla flying car demo, promoting a crypto giveaway scam with a QR code. The stream reportedly reached over 500,000 viewers before Coinbase's AI-powered chat agent intervened to prevent users from falling for the fraud, according to Coinbase.
A YouTube livestream of a Tesla flying car demo was reportedly hijacked, featuring a synthetic version of Elon Musk generated with deepfake technology. The fake Musk promoted a 'give/get' crypto giveaway, instructing viewers to send cryptocurrency with the promise of receiving more back, and included a QR code for participation. The hijacked stream reportedly garnered an audience of over 500,000 viewers. According to Coinbase, its AI-powered scam-prevention chat agent was 99% effective at stopping users from engaging with the fraudulent giveaway. The incident took place on or just before November 4, 2026, when Coinbase publicized the results.