Good one?
German company Volkswagen announced Tuesday it was not actually changing the name of its U.S. operations to Voltswagen of America to highlight its commitment to electric vehicles.
After news of the name change leaked on Monday, many observers assumed an April Fool’s Prank had been sniffed out. The leak was the work of an overeager publicist, according to reports from the company.
However, according to actual reports, the whole thing was an April Fool’s joke, after all.
April Fool’s Day is traditionally celebrated on April 1. The original leaks were on March 29.
According to reports from Reuters and The Wall Street Journal, the “prank” was a marketing stunt to drum up attention for a new product the company will sell.
In an example of the company that previously lied to regulators about how much pollution its diesel-powered vehicles emitted having a great sense of humor, the company had said the name change was tantamount to a “public declaration of the company’s future-forward investment in e-mobility.”
Several news outlets, including this one, were hoodwinked. This outlet is removing the name of, and descriptions of, whatever it is the company was trying so hard to market.
Volkswagen was founded in Germany in 1937 by the German Labor Front, the sole labor organization allowed to operate under the watch of Hitler’s Nazi government.
