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A Tesla Roadster launches from the Golden Gate Bridge, falls towards the water of San Francisco Bay, turns on the engines a few meters from the waves and climbs back up to the roadway, where the pilot gets out and raises his arms. It is the scene of a video that has been making the rounds on social media in recent days, exceeding 10 million views on X alone. But it never happened: according to checks by various fact-checking sites, the video was generated with artificial intelligence.
Where does the video come from
According to the reconstruction of the Fact Crescendo verification site, the first version of the clip was published on October 21 on Facebook by the “Digital realities” page, followed by around 206 thousand people, with a caption that left no doubt about the nature of the content: “Tesla Roadster, Test #54”. The same author also spread it on TikTok, where she openly promotes the creation of videos with artificial intelligence.
When switching from one account to another, however, the test label and the author’s name disappeared. On It is this version that has exceeded 10 million views, before being taken up by Facebook and TikTok pages in different languages.
Because it’s a fake
The first clue is logistical: such a stunt on the Golden Gate, one of the busiest bridges in the United States, would have required the closure of the structure, but there is no trace of it in any source of information. The US site Lead Stories then subjected the footage to a detection tool, which classified it as generated by artificial intelligence with a probability of 99.9%, including audio.
The real Roadster and the engines
What made the fake credible was the moment chosen. On October 15, Tesla presented the new Roadster at a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas, with a demonstration broadcast live: the prototype, equipped with thrusters, traveled down a ramp upside down, detached itself and flew for a short distance before landing. A controlled maneuver, on a specially built ramp and over short distances, far from a dive of tens of meters from a bridge.
Production of the new Roadster is scheduled for 2028. Among the announced versions there is also the “Rocket”, available only by invitation and with a complete flight system, which according to Tesla itself is not approved for circulation on public roads.