Some screenshots of fake newspaper headlines have sprung up about the death of billionaire Elon Musk, founder of Tesla, including "Elon Musk died at 49 after a Tesla battery exploded," or "Elon Musk's death - what does this mean for the stock market, and why is this good for Americans?" Ordinary?
The news comes a day after news that billionaire investor Ron Barron sold $ 1.8 million in Tesla shares, causing the company's share price to plummet.
The company's valuation fell by more than $ 100 billion in just a few days this week, but analysts were not worried, and they still expected the automaker to be worth a trillion dollars by the end of the year, according to Electrek.
Tesla's followers were not affected by the trolls. One wrote, "Elon Musk isn't dead!" "Don't listen to these fake stories. They post fake links that don't lead anywhere, and they post screenshots of fake articles."
One of the trolls decided to craft a full statement that he allegedly sent to Tesla investors.
"We are conducting an internal investigation to find out who spoke to the media in this regard," the fake statement said. "We must definitely find an alternative for Mr. Musk before announcing his death."
The statement was “signed” by the Tesla PR team, and ironically, Tesla disbanded the entire PR department last year.
It is possible that the rumors were sparked by some of those betting against the company for a profit this week of Tesla's stock price crash, but in any case it did not lead to what they were seeking.