Yes

“Fraud” is any activity that relies on deception in order to achieve a gain. Fraud becomes a crime when it is a “knowing misrepresentation of the truth or concealment of a material fact to induce another to act to his or her detriment” (Black’s Law Dictionary). In other words, if you lie in order to deprive a person or organization of their money or property, you’re committing fraud.

People will still fall for it by treating it like a demonstration of what Elon wants to make, and just an early prototype. The abilities these “robots” displayed are on par with technology that has been available for over 20 years. They don’t realize the parts missing, filled in by human intervention, are the most difficult parts to create and literally cannot be done without a major, generational breakthrough in AI.

You overestimate the general population. And especially “investors”.

The cult of Elon remains real.

in my defense, your honor, i didn’t think anybody would actually fall for it