It's that time of year again when scrutiny on social media intensifies, particularly with brands such as Google and Tesla joining the fray. With that said, let's delve into some of the most memorable April Fool’s Day pranks carried out by renowned brands.

Tesla's Faux Bankruptcy

Elon does what Elon wants. When he’s not buying companies, he’s either trolling on Twitter (now known as X) or launching rockets into space. However, in March 2018, the American billionaire decided to take an extra step forward, declaring Tesla bankrupt as part of an April Fool’s Day prank. Safe to say, it rather backfired quickly, with Tesla stocks plummeting by 7 per cent.

Google’s 'Mic Drop' Misstep

Google was an active participant in the April Fool’s Day ritual until 2020, sometimes flipping the search engine upside down or adding a mic drop gif as a new sign-off in emails, claiming to make it "easier to have the last word on any email." However, as things tend to go, a glitch caused the Mic Drop gif to be unintentionally added to many emails, forcing its removal a few hours later.

Richard Branson's Extraterrestrial Deception

Richard Branson has always been fascinated with space. Before his 2021 flight, the billionaire cooked up a rather devious prank for April Fool’s Day by flying a “UFO” over London in 1989. The unidentified flying object in question turned out to be a hot air balloon with flashing lights, which caused both the police and army to be put on standby.

Samsung Galaxy Blade Edge

Samsung is known for making cutting-edge phones, a compliment it took rather too seriously after unveiling the “Galaxy Blade Edge,” a fake device as part of its April Fool’s Day prank. Thankfully, unlike the other entries on the list, Samsung’s stock remained unaffected and no police were called.

Tinder's Height Verification Hoax

A prank that many would wish was real was introduced by Tinder with its 2019 “height verification feature,” aiming to curb the disingenuity around height that many men are accused of.