Is it real or AI? Here's part of how we decide.

Last week we saw clips of a Cybertruck being rescued on a California beach by a minivan. It’s a funny situation that begs for immediate coverage — like this, from The Drive. But both The Drive and the cited YouTube video hedged that it could be fake. So we also became skeptical and looked for potential AI shenanigans, after examining the license plate on the Cybertruck in the video. I asked the California DMV for comment, and it just got back to us confirming that “the vehicle plate and registration are valid for the plate number you provided.” So, at least it seems like it’s a real car.