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Tesla Sues Another Unhappy Buyer: the Chinese Lady That Protested in Shanghai

We’ve already mentioned Zhang Yazhou a few times here at autoevolution, even before we knew her name. Her protest against Tesla at Auto Shanghai 2021 made her world famous when she jumped on top of a Model 3 to scream that it had defective brakes. Her case is still in Chinese courts, unlike that of Han Chao. Tesla was convicted for fraud after it sold him a crashed Model S. Despite that, the carmaker also wants Yazhou to pay: it is suing her for RMB5 million due to “reputation infringements,” something that must be similar to defamation.
Tesla Auto Shanghai 2021 Protester, Zhang Yazhou 27 photos
Photo: Public domain
Han Chao Celebrates on Weibo Winning His Lawsuit Against TeslaHan Chao Celebrates on Weibo Winning His Lawsuit Against TeslaHan Chao Celebrates on Weibo Winning His Lawsuit Against TeslaHan Chao Celebrates on Weibo Winning His Lawsuit Against TeslaHan Chao Celebrates on Weibo Winning His Lawsuit Against TeslaHan Chao Shared the Court Decision Convicting Tesla of FraudHan Chao Shared the Court Decision Convicting Tesla of FraudHan Chao Shared the Court Decision Convicting Tesla of FraudHan Chao Shared the Court Decision Convicting Tesla of FraudHan Chao Shared the Court Decision Convicting Tesla of FraudHan Chao Shared the Court Decision Convicting Tesla of FraudHan Chao Shared the Court Decision Convicting Tesla of FraudHan Chao Shared the Court Decision Convicting Tesla of FraudHan Chao Shared the Court Decision Convicting Tesla of FraudHan Chao Shared the Court Decision Convicting Tesla of FraudHan Chao Shared the Court Decision Convicting Tesla of FraudHan Chao Shared the Court Decision Convicting Tesla of FraudHan Chao Shared the Court Decision Convicting Tesla of FraudHan Chao Shared the Court Decision Convicting Tesla of FraudHan Chao Shared the Court Decision Convicting Tesla of FraudHan Chao Shared the Court Decision Convicting Tesla of FraudHan Chao Posts on Weibo that Tesla Is Now Suing HimHan Chao Posts on Weibo that Tesla Is Now Suing HimHan Chao Posts on Weibo that Tesla Is Now Suing HimHan Chao Posts on Weibo that Tesla Is Now Suing HimZhang Yazhou's Tesla Model 3
According to Weixin, Yazhou shared on Weibo on September 27 that Tesla had started this lawsuit against her. Her post states that she received the indictment on August 14, making Yazhou’s case older than Chao’s. Despite that, she probably felt she had to warn other unhappy Tesla customers that the company was also targeting her.

The Chinese protester shared everything that’s happening with her lawsuits against Tesla. Curiously, Yazhou was the first to sue the company for defamation. That happened after a Tesla vice-president, Tao Lin, said in an interview on April 19 that the unhappy customer was very “professional and suggested that someone helped her organize the protest at Auto Shanghai 2021. In other words, she took Yazhou for a pawn in a corporate conspiracy to affect Tesla.

Yazhou is also suing Tesla Shanghai and Tesla Beijing because the company posted on Weibo that her father was tailgating the car in which her Model 3 crashed. The unhappy Tesla customer said that this wreck motivated her protest at the Chinese auto show. According to her, the car’s brakes failed.

After the company’s post on Weibo, Yazhou and her family would have been insulted and threatened on social media by Tesla fans. She said that caused them mental anguish. She also stated that Tesla has not tried to solve the “product quality dispute” they have due to her Model 3. It is unclear if Yazhou is also suing Tesla for the alleged defect in her EV.

The protester is asking RMB10,000 ($1,545 at the current exchange rate) from each of the parties and RMB20,000 ($3,091), probably for legal costs. That amounts to RMB50,000 ($7,727). Tesla first responded with a jurisdictional objection that Chinese courts denied. To her surprise, Tesla retaliated with the RMB5 million lawsuit.

Weixin reported that Tesla is already experiencing adverse effects from suing these customers, which was more than predictable, especially in Chao’s case. After all, Tesla was condemned for fraud, and that’s the final decision. Chao sarcastically said that the company expects to make more money from suing him than selling him a car with no issues.
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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
Gustavo Henrique Ruffo profile photo

Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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