The market didn’t think Elon’s latest joke was all that funny

IT’S pretty clear the billionaire entrepreneur is having fun but his April Fool’s joke sent shares crashing five per cent.

THERE’S no denying life is good when you’re Elon Musk.

It’s easy to tell the billionaire entrepreneur is having fun but his latest joke has gone down like a lead balloon.

The SpaceX and Tesla chief executive has been having a lot of fun on social media lately. Whether he’s gleefully spruiking his flame throwers, hats, or other random paraphernalia, or making wisecracks about aliens, everything Musk says is eagerly gobbled up by fanboys and the media alike.

But his latest April Fool’s joke certainly didn’t have everyone laughing, least of all investors.

Musk took to Twitter to announce that the electric car-maker, which has been rocked by bad news, was going bankrupt.

“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,” he wrote.

He later posted a picture of himself pretending to be passed out with his head on a Tesla Model 3 while holding a sign that read “Bankwupt!”

“Elon was found passed out against a Tesla Model 3, surrounded by ‘Teslaquilla’ bottles, the tracks of dried tears still visible on his cheeks,” the tweet said.

“This is not a forward-looking statement, because, obviously, what’s the point?”

Not a bad April Fool’s effort from the CEO.

The prank came amid reports of significant risks ahead for the manufacturer, which is heavily indebted and has not turned a profit since it began operating in 2003.

In the wake of Musk’s bankruptcy tweet, the market responded by shaving a further five per cent of off the company’s value as Tesla’s shares continued to slide sharply on Monday.

RELATED: Tesla is staring down the barrel of a huge debt

RELATED: Google is streets ahead of Tesla in self driving race

Aside from an investigation into a recent crash involving Tesla’s autopilot technology, much of the trepidation from investors has been around the company consistently missing production targets for its Model 3, a cheaper vehicle that analysts see as crucial to the company’s long-term profitability and survival.

This week Electrek, published an email Musk reportedly sent to employees at 3am saying Tesla may now exceed a production rate of 2000 Model 3 cars per week, which is still behind it original production goal.

However Musk also noted that it’s already twice the production rate of last year and said he now expects the carmaker to exit the year by producing cars “at least four times faster than last year”.

“Musk himself is focusing time on Model 3 production because it is the “highest priority,” a Tesla spokesman said on Monday in the US.

EXCLUSIVE: emails from a source inside Tesla show Musk and Tesla management rallying the troops and trying to accelerate sales as sentiment on the company turns negative. pic.twitter.com/u55MnJ8jsP

— Problem Magnet (@Tweetermeyer) April 2, 2018