At least a few Tesla investors probably aren't laughing right now.
Four minutes before the end of the trading day, Tesla put out a tweet and blog post with the headline: "Announcing the Tesla Model W." That announced was quickly picked up by a couple publications and briefly sent Tesla's stock up by about 0.75%.
Those who looked at the picture included with the tweet or read just one line of the post would have quickly realized it was an April Fools' joke about Tesla releasing a watch, perhaps taking a jab at Apple, which is said to be considering competing with Tesla on cars. Then again, that would require an extra five seconds, which is an eternity on Wall Street.
Announcing the Model W. http://t.co/7bHqIz7lm3 pic.twitter.com/Ne9vTSHzj6— Tesla Motors (@TeslaMotors) April 1, 2015
This April Fool's joke briefly added $125m to Tesla's value ( @Bloomberg picked it up according to @DougKass ) $TSLA pic.twitter.com/lJupbhYxuf— Spencer Jakab (@Spencerjakab) April 1, 2015
TSLA desperation. Should have waited until 3:59:59— zerohedge (@zerohedge) April 1, 2015
A rep for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission declined to comment on the incident. A rep for Tesla did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
Google, Amazon, Twitter and other large tech companies have a long tradition of embracing April Fools' jokes, which often include fake product announcements. Perhaps Tesla's presentation was just too subtle. Or perhaps the company's investors are just too primed to make quick decisions based on vague tweets.
Moral of the story: always read beyond the headline.