April Fool’s Day has come another year, and with it, a handful of fake headlines and statements ready to make fools of us all. Whether it took you a while to remember to watch for trolls today or you’ve become hardened and on-guard for the holiday, we’re looking back at some times when Tesla and others were, perhaps, a little too convincing for their own good.
Tesla has had a long history of making April Fool’s jokes, not unlike many before it in the tech automotive industries. As electric vehicles (EVs) from Tesla and others have become more popular, so too have the cultures of trolling, memes, and general online silliness continued to grow.
Elon Musk turns “Teslaquila” April Fools’ booze into the real thing
Below are six times Tesla and others (*cough* Volkswagen) rode the delicate line between April Fool’s joke and misleading the public.
2015: Tesla Model S ‘ticket-avoidance-mode’
At this point, Tesla’s Model S “ticket-avoidance-mode” video is a straight-up classic. Back in 2015, Tesla announced in a video that Model S owners would no longer need to worry about parking tickets with the use of the mode. Eight years and 22.2 million views later, the 84-second video is still pretty funny.
2018: Tesla’s fake brush with ‘bankwuptcy’
Perhaps one of the most high-profile of Tesla’s April Fool’s jokes was surrounding the release of Tesla Tequila, then called Teslaquila—before the company was required to change the name by authorities in Mexico.
On his own Twitter profile in 2018, CEO Elon Musk posted that Tesla had gone bankrupt, detailing a “last-ditch mass sale of Easter Eggs. The thread continued, saying that Musk had been found passed out against a Tesla Model 3, with “Teslaquilla” bottles all around him.
This one stung just a little bit, as it was clearly a joke. However, Tesla’s multiple real brushes with bankruptcy in periods of “production hell” during the Model S and Model 3 ramp probably made this one hit home for some employees and shareholders at the time.
“There are many chapters of bankruptcy and, as critics so rightly pointed out, Tesla has them *all*, including Chapter 14 and a half (the worst one),” Musk wrote in the post.
Tesla Goes Bankrupt
Palo Alto, California, April 1, 2018 — Despite intense efforts to raise money, including a last-ditch mass sale of Easter Eggs, we are sad to report that Tesla has gone completely and totally bankrupt. So bankrupt, you can't believe it.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2018
Elon was found passed out against a Tesla Model 3, surrounded by "Teslaquilla" bottles, the tracks of dried tears still visible on his cheeks.
This is not a forward-looking statement, because, obviously, what's the point?
Happy New Month! pic.twitter.com/YcouvFz6Y1
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2018
2019: Tesla Pittsburgh store ‘downsizes’ Model S
This one is perhaps a lesser-known event than some of the company’s more public April Fool’s announcements, but it was pretty funny when the Tesla store at Ross Park Mall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, “downsized” its stock, instead displaying a tiny Radio Flyer Model S for the day.
2021: Volkswagen basically changes its name to ‘Voltswagen’
This one simply needed to be included on this list: Does anyone else remember when Volkswagen highlighted its transition to EVs by issuing an April Fool’s press release to formally change its name to ‘Voltswagen’?
I do, because it was so convincing that the automaker later had to issue a wave of apologies for misleading consumers and shareholders. Volkswagen also said it published the release “accidentally,” coming out just a couple of days prior to April 1. Said to begin in May 2021, the release also coincided with the deployment of early ID.4 units, apparently intended to be “a public declaration of the company’s future-forward investment in e-mobility.”
“We might be changing out our K for a T, but what we aren’t changing is this brand’s commitment to making best-in-class vehicles for drivers and people everywhere,” wrote Scott Keogh, president and CEO of Voltswagen of America, in the fake release.
In a follow-up, Volkswagen issued an apology statement before April Fool’s Day even began:
“What began as an April Fool’s effort got the whole world buzzing,” the automaker wrote. “Turns out people are as passionate about our heritage as they are about our electric future. So whether it’s Voltswagen or Volkswagen, people talking about electric driving and our ID.4 can only be a good thing.”
Really, this is the only one on this list that was probably too convincing. This might be a bit of a hot take, but personally, I kind of liked the fake name.
2023: Tesla Cybertruck’s highly anticipated “crash test”
This one was only a little cruel: Prior to its release in November, Tesla last April posted a short, repeating teaser of the highly anticipated Cybertruck crash test, edited to offer zero crash, zero details, and thus, zero resolve for those awaiting the real results. Many had requested details on crash testing for the Cybertruck over the years, so the unsatisfying clip got a lot of people hyped up, only to later realize the date.
This one was verifiably pretty convincing.
Cybertruck crash test pic.twitter.com/MIhJbxLXuP
— Tesla (@Tesla) April 1, 2023
Tesla did eventually go on to release the actual crash testing footage for the Cybertruck.
Elon Musk on April Fool’s this year
Lastly, I’ll let the big man himself speak for what’s worth trolling people on in 2024, but as a short preamble, it’s not auto- or energy-related, and it’s really just his latest in speaking out against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives:
Excited to join @Disney as their Chief DEI Officer.
Can’t wait to work with Bob Iger & Kathleen Kennedy to make their content MORE woke!
Even the linguini.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2024
What are your thoughts? Did I miss any April Fool’s jokes that made companies, consumers or shareholders look like fools? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.
Elon Musk
Tesla Roadster owners to get “Flying Stunt Mode” and looping track access
Musk says Roadster owners can command the unveiling stunts autonomously, with a Texas looping track.
Elon Musk says owners of the new Tesla Roadster will be able to ask the car to perform the stunts Tesla showed at its unveiling, with the car doing the driving itself. Musk made the comment Saturday in a reply on X to tech blogger Robert Scoble, and he added a promise of a looping track at Tesla’s Texas headquarters.
Scoble had argued that the person in the Roadster is not really driving it. In his description, the driver operates a computer that tells another computer what to do, with steering, braking and acceleration all handled by wire. Musk answered, “True. You will be able to ask the Roadster to perform any of the tricks shown autonomously, as it will be sentient. Also, we will have a wild looping track (crazier even than Hot Wheels) at our Texas HQ where you can test out your Roadster.”
@Scobleizer True.
You will be able to ask the Roadster to perform any of the tricks shown autonomously, as it will be sentient.
Also, we will have a wild looping track (crazier even than Hot Wheels) at our Texas HQ where you can test out your Roadster.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 17, 2026
At the October 15 event outside Waco, the car drove up a curved ramp until it was upside down, flew off on cold gas thrusters, flipped and landed. It also hovered over a Cybercab, Cybertruck, Semi, Model Y and Model 3 while moving. As we noted in our breakdown of the three Roadster configurations, Musk said at the event that the car “literally is just going to puff itself up” to perform the maneuvers whenever an owner wants. Saturday’s reply adds that the car would run them on its own.
Tesla has described some of the hardware that would make that possible. The Roadster uses steer by wire with a yoke, and its cold gas thrusters rely on electric actuators for small adjustments in flight. A fan system under the car creates suction, which Tesla says is strong enough to hold it upside down, a setup we covered in our look at the Roadster’s fan system and thrusters.
Musk did not say when an autonomous stunt feature might arrive, how it would work, or what he means by sentient. He also gave no size, location or opening date for the Texas track. Production is planned for Giga Texas in 2027 or 2028, and Tesla says the car is not approved for public road use. The Rocket version, the one built to fly, is invite only.
The comment follows a week of Musk teasing the event, including his claim that the demo would be a banger, which we covered before the stream. Tesla reports third quarter earnings on October 21, and shareholders can submit and vote on questions through the Say portal until 4 p.m. EDT on October 20, according to our earnings Q&A preview. A question about autonomous Roadster stunts and the Texas track would be a quick way to get specifics from management.
Elon Musk
How to use Grok Bot to block spam calls and texts
Musk told users to ask Grok Bot to scrub their phone numbers from spam lists.
Elon Musk has a new use case for Grok Bot, and it is the spam call. On Thursday he replied to an X user named Arash with a short instruction: “Ask your @Grok @Bot to remove your phone number from spam call & text lists!” Arash had said he got tired of the calls, had an AI bot find his number on listing sites and file removal requests, and packaged the process as a free skill for others.
The skill is called Spam-Call Scrubber, which is described to find a phone number on people search sites and data brokers, submits the opt outs, completes the confirmation emails those sites send back, and rechecks on a schedule the user picks. Using it requires the Grok Bot app. The pitch is time saved, since most broker opt outs sit behind separate forms on separate sites.
Ask your @Grok @Bot to remove your phone number from spam call & text lists!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 15, 2026
Musk said Grok Bot now gives each bot its own email address, and that it can detect scam emails. On Thursday he also said SpaceX would make users whole if the bot botches a purchase or leaks a card, then told users to shop away from Amazon after the retailer blocked the agent, as Teslarati reported. The terms of service we reviewed at the time put responsibility for what an agent does on the user.
For Tesla owners, Grok Bot is not just a phone app. Tesla brought Grok Bot into its vehicles on September 22, and we argued earlier this week that the Cybercab’s real advantage may be the errands it runs during a ride. Every Cybercab and the rest of the Model Y Robotaxi fleet has it enabled. The more routine tasks like this one become, the more a rider has reason to hand over something personal in the back seat.
The new Spam-Call Scrubber skill can be downloaded for free and works on sites that honor removal requests, while noting that listings can reappear, and illegal robocallers do not check any registry. Whether Spam-Call Scrubber cuts anyone’s call volume is something the first wave of users will find out, and Musk’s endorsement guarantees that wave is coming.
Investor's Corner
Tesla’s flying Roadster just revealed something bigger than the car
Analysts say the Roadster demo puts a Tesla and SpaceX merger back on the table.
The Roadster unveiling near Waco ended Thursday night, and by Friday morning much of the investor reaction had less to do with the car than with who owns the rocket technology inside it.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said the event “puts the Tesla/SpaceX relationship on the table in a tangible way,” pointing to the propulsion, pressure vessel and control hardware sitting on a Tesla product. Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management called the demo “a ridiculous display of engineering” with “no commercial value” beyond embarrassing traditional automakers, though he said it showed Musk wants the two companies together.
The more specific forecast came a day earlier from Barclays. Analyst Dan Levy told clients a deal could be announced before Tesla’s annual meeting, which must happen by December 6, and that an announcement in late October or early November could make shareholder approval harder. Barclays expects SpaceX to be the buyer in an all stock deal, with Tesla holders receiving SpaceX shares at a premium, based on market values of roughly $2.1 trillion for SpaceX and $1.5 trillion for Tesla. If nothing lands around the meeting, the bank still sees an announcement within 6 to 12 months.
The Roadster demo just added more weight to merger speculations. Tesla’s demo used cold gas thrusters and pressure tanks of the kind SpaceX uses on Falcon 9, and Musk described the car as a collaboration between Tesla and SpaceX engineers, as we mentioned in our breakdown of the three Roadster configurations.
Musk has not publicly addressed a deal since the event, as far as we have seen. His most direct answer remains the one he gave at the All In Summit, when he said that with so much collaboration, “who can imagine what action one might take” without ruling anything out. Ives has held to a 2027 timeline since his March note, and Musk pushed back on the China piece of the speculation when ARK floated a year end announcement in August.
The next test is Tesla’s third quarter earnings call on October 21. However, we recall in July that Musk told analysts, “we can’t talk about combining companies and that kind of thing on an earnings call,” so a clear answer wouldn’t be expected.