5 Most Hilarious April Fools’ Pranks From Tech Companies

April Fool’s Day is not only celebrated on an individual level but big companies are also seen getting into it lately. 

And truly, beginning the month of April in a humorous manner is truly a great thing as it exposes us to some creative elements, for instance, various April Fools’ Pranks done by people or businesses. Sometimes the creativity of these companies overflows to the brim resulting in enjoyment and sometimes learning. In this article, we will go through some of the most hilarious and creative April Fool’s Pranks curated by the biggest known tech companies. 

1. Tesla Goes Bankrupt! 

This was one of the most discussed and shared pranks of its time. In an entertaining string of April Fools’ tweets, Elon Musk hilariously posted the message, “Tesla Goes Bankrupt” on a microblogging platform. “In spite of immense efforts to raise funds, including an eleventh-hour mass sale of Easter Eggs, we regret to inform you that Tesla has gone totally bankrupt. So bankrupt that it’d beyond your comprehension,” Musk tweeted. “There are multiple phases of insolvency and, the critics were correct when they said, Tesla has *all*, including Chapter fourteen and a half,” he mentioned in his following tweet. These tweets were shared three hours post his announcement “Important news in a couple of hours…” on Twitter. Elon also shared his image with tweets in which he was with a “bankwupt” placard in his hand. 

“Musk was discovered surrounded by ‘Teslaquilla’ bottles and was leaned against a Tesla Model 3, while the paths of dried tears were apparent on his cheeks. This is anything but a hopeful declaration because obviously, the crux has no value. Happy New Month!” the subsequent tweet said.

2. Virgin’s Journey to the Earth’s Core

People and organizations get creative in many ways as the month of April approaches. The esteemed British business tycoon Sir Richard Branson had also gotten creative with Virgin. In 2012 he had announced one of his most undaunted expeditions: A trip to the heart of the Earth through an active volcano. The billionaire built a new website for his alleged venture, which was named Virgin Volcanic. This announcement lauded a sleek designed vehicle engineered to sustain the hot liquid magma that would enable the ferrying of Branson towards the center of Earth’s five most active peaks.

Actors Seth Green, known as Dr. Evil’s son in the “Austin Powers”, Tom Hanks, star of “Joe Versus the Volcano,” and singer Will.i.am, of The Black Eyed Peas, have vowed to be one of the first “volcanauts,” as Branson alluded to them in a tweet. Adrian Grenier, from “Entourage,” joined the list by proclaiming that he’ll bring the marshmallows after connecting with Branson in a tweet. “Venturing from Hawaii to Naples in only a couple of hours via the molten magma would before long be a reality. This would occur with passengers embarking and debarking inside “Earthports” near volcanoes,” as reported on the Virgin Volcanic website.

3. Google’s Screen Cleaner

Google is another funny player in the game of pranks. 

In 2019, it made several quips that included a Google Screen Cleaner, a feature for Android smartphones that can clean physical dirt and stains from your smartphone display. Using what is referred to as a “haptic micro-movement generator”, the Screen Cleaner when switched on magically cleans stains and dirt. The phone then vibrates to build a non-stick shield and concludes the cleaning process with a message on your screen that reads, “Sparkling Clean”. The feature also claimed to leave a “fresh pineapple scent” after cleaning. 

During the years 2020 and 2021, Google decided to cancel the April Fools Pranks urging their employees to focus on COVID relief efforts. Nevertheless, April 1st was commemorated with Jean Macnamara’s birthday. 

4. Duolingo Push

Duolingo went a bridge too far when they introduced the Push Notification in which Duo, the Duolingo Owl himself, come to notify you of your practice sessions. No one would now dare to skip their sessions! Initially, the Twitter account of Duolingo shared an image regarding an imminent app update that was acknowledged as quite menacing for a tiny green owl. But it seems like it was Duolingo’s subtle prank for April Fools’ Day. And it’s pretty evident that Duo is not here to harm us. He’s here merely to ‘Push’ us a bit more than to practice in real life with Duolingo Push.

The Duolingo Push page says, “Duolingo’s latest, in-person notifications could find you wherever you are. Neglect at your own peril.” There probably can be nothing more motivating than a giant, green owl gazing at you in your supper unless you practice Spanish for a couple of minutes. Duolingo Push also offers you an option to opt for which type of owl that will aggravate you in your real life. The “Disappointed Duo” begins with a cheap monthly price tag of $100. Then they have the Duo versions of “Encouraging Duo,” and “Passive-Aggressive Duo.”

Even this April Fools’ trick was widely admired and it also served as a marketing campaign for Duolingo resulting in a good surge of the application’s downloads and registrations. 

5. Spotify’s Discover Weekly

The famous music streaming platform, Spotify hornswoggled every one of its users with an April Fool’s Day prank that was creative as well as a bit irksome at the same time. On 1st April 2019, the users were a bit boggled when “Discover Weekly”, a playlist that commonly has song suggestions on users’ listening patterns was entirely made up of disco songs.

A close observation of the playlist’s cover actually says “Your Discocover Weekly.”

“A mix of disco covers has been made just for you, but you can groove to your Discover Weekly anytime you want. April Fools!” the playlist description said. Spotify did pester its users in a harmless manner by making the real “Discover Weekly” difficult to find, but the prank was truly hilarious and was appreciated on a broad scale.

Some of the songs on this playlist consisted of “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now”, “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough”, “I Feel The Love”, “Stayin Alive”, “Funky Town”, “The Boss”, “I Can’t Stand the Rain”, “Can’t Get Enough”, “Heart of Glass”, “I Will Survive”, “Rock With You”, “Casanova”, “You’re The One That I Want”, “How’s Your Life Baby”, “Russian Dressing”, “Stayin Alive” (From Happy Death Day 2U) and many such songs.