'The Tesla was talking!': Confused trick-or-treaters pranked by Tesla owner

"I knew it would be a hit with the trick-or-treaters," the owner told KRON4

by: Fareeha Rehman, Nexstar Media Wire

Posted: Nov 1, 2021 / 07:30 PM AST

Updated: Nov 1, 2021 / 06:03 PM AST

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SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – Some confused and creeped out trick-or-treaters got first-hand experience with a new Tesla feature that allows owners to talk to people through their cars.

Twitter user @silverph shared the Ring video where he talks to the kids through his Tesla without ever showing the face behind the voice.

The small group was walking around the Tesla to go up the driveway when the car suddenly said, “Happy Halloween kids.”

They stopped immediately and turned to the source of the greeting.

“That was the Tesla! Wait is that the Tesla? The Tesla was talking!” The kids could be heard saying. The owner then said “I like your costumes” and got a polite “thank you!” in response.

Still, the kids expressed how creepy the talking Tesla was and wondered whose voice was actually speaking. “Um, that’s pretty creepy,” the kids continued to say.

Finally, “the Tesla” told the kids to go get some candy and they went on their way, with their adult chaperones chuckling.

“Tesla released a new premium feature on their cars which is the remote Sentry Mode live view,” the owner, John Brian Silverio, told Nexstar’s KRON4 in an email. “It came with a feature to speak to someone outside the vehicle but in addition, changes your voice to a lower pitch (no way to change it). I knew it would be a hit with the trick-or-treaters (like KITT from Knight Rider) but because it is only one-way, I used our Ring cameras to hear what they were saying with me out of sight for a magical effect.”