Bezos confirms Alexa will run his vehicles, promises dramatically reduced charging costs.

UPDATE, midday: The jig is up! And, of course, many of you were wise to the gag before you'd gotten past the first line.

In a surprise announcement Monday morning, Amazon founder and the world's wealthiest man, Jeff Bezos, revealed he is launching a car company named Edison Motors.

Bezos, a rival to fellow billionaire Elon Musk in the space industry, said his aim wasn't to compete with Musk's Tesla Motors. Rather, he said, "I was just tinkering with one of my rockets when I had this lightbulb moment".

During the morning's press conference, Bezos said Edison Motors will make use of patents previously put into the public domain by Tesla Motors, and will create "electrified vehicles that are actually practical".