Scammers are using doctored videos and images of Elon Musk to advertise on Facebook and Instagram. Meta, Facebook, nor Instagram are doing anything to stop these out-of-control scammers.
Hopefully, that will change. Probably not.
Busted!
Andrea Stroppa, former contributor to the World Economic Forum, and cyber security researcher focusing on digital communication, social media, and research, shared what he found. He also shared his thoughts with me.
In a Twitter thread, Andrea pointed out that both Facebook and Instagram have a major problem. Both social media networks allow hundreds of sponsored posts that link to scams.
These scammers are using the name and face of Elon Musk with fake interviews or fake endorsements.
“In the past three days, this page created 20 different ads on Facebook and Instagram with a video of Elon Musk that suggested investing in a crypto platform. It’s a scam,” Andrea tweeted.
Andrea found that these scammers also use verified Facebook pages to advertise on the Meta apps. These verified pages are most likely hacked.
Elon Musk, SpaceX, and Tesla are used in these scams.
The scammers don’t limit themselves to verified pages, but they also have recently created pages with fewer than ten thousand followers that are given the green light by Facebook to advertise.
Elon Musk isn’t the only one these scammers are using to advertise their scams. They also use the logos of both Tesla and SpaceX.
And they use the power of the Meta Business Suite to target specific users for countries, ages, sex, and other variables.
Analyzing Fraudulent Ads on Facebook And Instagram
Andrea said that his team analyzed the fraudulent ads on these platforms that were related to counterfeit products for a particular target audience.
What he found instead were these scams which, he added, are very likely the top of the iceberg. These scams have a common pattern.
In my opinion, Facebook doesn’t seem to care about stopping it. As long as they get their money, they seem to be just fine with the scams. If not, then they would put an end to the scams. Right?
Perhaps someone at Meta will read that and prove me wrong.
Austrian Office of Taipei hacked
Andrea’s team even found a government page involved with the scams. He shared a screenshot of the Austrian Office Taipei’s post claiming “Tesla’s latest project shocks the world and the bank is in shock.”
Fortunately, the Austrian Office of Taipei was able to recover their account and posted a statement about being hacked.
However, all of their content posted between August 2021 and May 2022 was deleted.
“We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the scammers. We have done all we can to make sure that nobody is able anymore to abuse our page.”
“As of today, we will return in the usual manner to inform you about our activities in Taiwan, inform you about Austria in all its aspects, such as culture, as a travel destination, its economy and businesses, science and innovation, sustainability and many other areas.”
“Thank you so much for your support. The Team of the Austrian Office Taipei.”
Elon Musk & Meta’s users are victims of negligence
Andrea called on Andrew Bosworth (Boz) the Chief Technology Officer at Meta and
Adam Mosseri, the Head of Instagram to be serious about the moderation of ads on these networks.
“Elon Musk and your users are both victims of scammers and your negligence. Fix it now.”
In a statement to Teslarati, Andrea Stroppa said,
“No doubt that Elon Musk is not just one of the best entrepreneurs of his generation but even a formidable capital allocator. That’s why many people want to listen to his bits of advice.”
“But all these ads appearing on Facebook and Instagram with potential investments are scams.”
“Looking at these malicious ads, there are many common patterns, keywords, and media content. Facebook has the technical skills to reduce the magnitude of these damaging activities. But they don’t.”
Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announces major update with texting and driving on FSD
“Depending on context of surrounding traffic, yes,” Musk said in regards to FSD v14.2.1 allowing texting and driving.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced a major update with texting and driving capabilities on Full Self-Driving v14.2.1, the company’s latest version of the FSD suite.
Tesla Full Self-Driving, even in its most mature and capable versions, is still a Level 2 autonomous driving suite, meaning it requires attention from the vehicle operator.
You cannot sleep, and you should not take attention away from driving; ultimately, you are still solely responsible for what happens with the car.
The vehicles utilize a cabin-facing camera to enable attention monitoring, and if you take your eyes off the road for too long, you will be admonished and advised to pay attention. After five strikes, FSD and Autopilot will be disabled.
However, Musk announced at the Annual Shareholder Meeting in early November that the company would look at the statistics, but it aimed to allow people to text and drive “within the next month or two.”
He said:
“I am confident that, within the next month or two, we’re gonna look at the safety statistics, but we will allow you to text and drive.”
“I am confident that, within the next month or two, we’re gonna look at the safety statistics, but we will allow you to text and drive.”
Does anyone think v14.3 will enable this? pic.twitter.com/N2yn0SK70M
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 23, 2025
Today, Musk confirmed that the current version of Full Self-Driving, which is FSD v14.2.1, does allow for texting and driving “depending on context of surrounding traffic.”
Depending on context of surrounding traffic, yes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 4, 2025
There are some legitimate questions with this capability, especially as laws in all 50 U.S. states specifically prohibit texting and driving. It will be interesting to see the legality of it, because if a police officer sees you texting, they won’t know that you’re on Full Self-Driving, and you’ll likely be pulled over.
Some states prohibit drivers from even holding a phone when the car is in motion.
It is certainly a move toward unsupervised Full Self-Driving operation, but it is worth noting that Musk’s words state it will only allow the vehicle operator to do it depending on the context of surrounding traffic.
He did not outline any specific conditions that FSD would allow a driver to text and drive.
News
Tesla Semi just got a huge vote of confidence from 300-truck fleet
The confidential meeting marks a major step for the mid-sized carrier in evaluating the electric truck for its regional routes.
The Tesla Semi is moving closer to broader fleet adoption, with Keller Logistics Group wrapping up a key pre-production planning session with the electric vehicle maker’s team this week.
The confidential meeting marks a major step for the mid-sized carrier in evaluating the electric truck for its regional routes.
Keller’s pre-production Tesla Semi sessions
Keller Logistics Group, a family-owned carrier with over 300 tractors and 1,000 trailers operating in the Midwest and Southeast, completed the session to assess the Tesla Semi’s fit for its operations. The company’s routes typically span 500-600 miles per day, positioning it as an ideal tester for the Semi’s day cab configuration in standard logistics scenarios.
Details remain under mutual NDA, but the meeting reportedly focused on matching the truck to yard, shuttle and regional applications while scrutinizing economics like infrastructure, maintenance and incentives.
What Keller’s executives are saying
CEO Bryan Keller described the approach as methodical. “For us, staying ahead isn’t a headline, it’s a habit. From electrification and yard automation to digital visibility and warehouse technology, our teams are continually pressure-testing what’s next. The Tesla Semi discussion is one more way we evaluate new tools against our standards for safety, uptime, and customer ROI. We don’t chase trends, we pressure-test what works,” Keller said.
Benjamin Pierce, Chief Strategy Officer, echoed these sentiments. “Electrification and next-generation powertrains are part of a much broader transformation. Whether it’s proprietary yard systems like YardLink™, solar and renewable logistics solutions, or real-time vehicle intelligence, Keller’s approach stays the same, test it, prove it, and deploy it only when it strengthens service and total cost for our customers,” Pierce said.
News
Tesla extends FSD Supervised ride-alongs in Europe by three months
Needless to say, it does appear that FSD fever is starting to catch in Europe.
Tesla appears to be doubling down on its European Full Self-Driving (Supervised) push, with the company extending its demo ride-along program by three months until the end of March 2026. The update seems to have been implemented due to overwhelming demand.
Needless to say, it does appear that FSD fever is starting to catch in Europe.
Extended FSD demonstrations
Tesla EU Policy and Business Development Manager Ivan Komušanac shared on LinkedIn that the company is offering ride-along experiences in Germany, France and Italy while working toward FSD (Supervised) approval in Europe.
He noted that this provides a great feedback opportunity from the general public, encouraging participants to record and share their experiences. For those unable to book in December, Komušanac teased more slots as “Christmas presents.”
Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt highlighted the extension on X, stating that dates now run from December 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, in multiple cities including Stuttgart-Weinstadt, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf in Germany. This suggests that the FSD ride-along program in Europe has officially been extended until the end of the first quarter of 2026.
Building momentum for European approval
Replies to Merritt’s posts buzzed with excitement, with users like @AuzyMale noting that Cologne and Düsseldorf are already fully booked. This sentiment was echoed by numerous other Tesla enthusiasts on social media. Calls for the program’s expansion to other European territories have also started gaining steam, with some X users suggesting Switzerland and Finland as the next locations for FSD ride-alongs.
Ultimately, the Tesla EU Policy and Business Development Manager’s post aligns with the company’s broader FSD efforts in Europe. As per recent reports, Tesla recently demonstrated FSD’s capabilities for Rome officials. Reporters from media outlets in France and Germany have also published positive reviews of FSD’s capabilities on real-world roads.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announces major update with texting and driving on FSD
Tesla Semi just got a huge vote of confidence from 300-truck fleet
