How Elon Musk fooled his Twitter followers: 'Tesla goes bankrupt'

In a hilarious thread of April Fools' tweets, Tesla CEO Elon Musk jokingly posted a "Tesla Goes Bankrupt" message on Twitter.

"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," Musk tweeted late Sunday.

"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)," he added in the second tweet.

These tweets came three hours after he announced "Important news in a few hours..." on Twitter.

Musk also posted his photo with the tweets in which he was seen sitting with a "bankrupt" placard in his hand.

"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!" the followup tweet said.

Tesla's stock price plunged more than 25 per cent over the past month.

Investors are worried about the startup's ability to deliver on its first mass-market car, the Model 3, which has been plagued by manufacturing woes.

Last week, Tesla recalled about 123,000 Model S sedans, asking customers with cars built before April 2016 to have their power steering bolts replaced.

Tesla's stock sank nearly four per cent during after-hours trading after the recall announcement.