At about 5pm yesterday, amid rumours of a company in crisis, Lotus sent out a flabbergasting press release that instantly sent Twitter loopy. The company also posted it to the Facebooks, because Lotus listens to rap music and hangs out with celebrities these days, so it’s cool enough to do social networking LOL. (The rumour it’s about to close its Facebook account and start a Myspace page is, we’re told, totes a lie and that.)The press release was written in direct response to a Photoshop job on satirical motoring website Sniff Petrol.But, as it turns out, Sniff was just the straw that broke the Elise’s roof – Lotus has all manner of axes to grind…Winding Lotus right up are reports that its CEO has left, and the company is about to go into administration. Now, it’s not unusual for a company to rebuff claims that it’s in trouble, be it for tactical or genuine reasons. However, it’s the rambling, unguarded, highly non-corporate nature of Lotus’s denial that’s so unbelievable. Someone get Lotus a cheeseburger, quick!Ever since the 2010 Paris Motor Show, when Lotus officially went mental, the company has seemed fixated on becoming the Charlie Sheen of the automotive industry.