Photo: Global Times
Tesla faced headwinds in China as brake failure claims threatened to taint the carmaker's reputation. Since then, Tesla has filed lawsuits against people who claimed its cars had brake problems and won many of them. On Wednesday, the EV maker scored another victory against one of the protesters at the Auto Shanghai 2021 motor show.
Although China is Tesla's main production hub and a crucial market, things have not always been warm between them. In 2020 and 2021, Tesla faced a PR nightmare in China as public opinion turned against it. Many claims of brake failure threatened to derail Tesla's plans and wreak havoc on its Chinese dreams. Although these claims have never been proven, the hysteria reached a boiling point during the Auto Shanghai 2021.
Back then, a protest made the headlines after a lady climbed on top of a Tesla. Despite becoming famous, Zhang Yazhou was only there as a "plus one" to the other lady whose Tesla was involved in an accident because of an alleged brake failure. Regardless, the protest was the beginning of the worst PR nightmare Tesla faced in its short history. It also made others piggyback on the story and try to gain fame by faking brake problems with their (or others') Teslas.
Seeing where this was heading, Tesla decided to stand firm and take action, that is, sue all the people who tried to become famous on its account. But things were more complicated with the Shanghai Auto Show protesters, who also sued Tesla in several lawsuits. This indicated a well-orchestrated smear campaign against Tesla, probably organized by powerful actors who wouldn't want Tesla to gain traction in the Chinese market.
Tesla began to win these cases this year, as more influencers confessed they made up the brake failure stories to get more engagement. In other cases, the investigation proved that the driver mistakenly pressed the accelerator instead of the brake pedal. In May, Tesla won a breakthrough case against Zhang Yazhou, the second in a longer list.
The funny thing was that Ms. Zhang had no problems with her Tesla. Instead, the other woman, whom we only know as "Ms. Li from Xi'an," claimed brake issues. Her car was involved in a crash in March 2021, and Ms. Li claimed the accident was caused by the brakes not working as they should. Tesla denied the accusation and sued the woman as it did in other cases.
On Wednesday, a Chinese court ordered the woman to publicly apologize to Tesla, pay damages, and cover vehicle evaluation fees. The verdict came after a court-appointed independent agency that evaluated Ms. Li's Tesla Model 3 found no issue with its brakes. Based on local media, Ms. Li was ordered to pay 2,000 yuan (280 USD) to Tesla for damages, cover the 25,390 yuan legal processing fee, and 20,000 yuan (2,800 USD) for vehicle evaluation.
Intriguingly, no new brake failure cases were reported in China this year, with the matter being almost forgotten. However, Tesla is now facing increased competition in the market from local carmakers, which might prove a lot harder to dismiss.
Back then, a protest made the headlines after a lady climbed on top of a Tesla. Despite becoming famous, Zhang Yazhou was only there as a "plus one" to the other lady whose Tesla was involved in an accident because of an alleged brake failure. Regardless, the protest was the beginning of the worst PR nightmare Tesla faced in its short history. It also made others piggyback on the story and try to gain fame by faking brake problems with their (or others') Teslas.
Seeing where this was heading, Tesla decided to stand firm and take action, that is, sue all the people who tried to become famous on its account. But things were more complicated with the Shanghai Auto Show protesters, who also sued Tesla in several lawsuits. This indicated a well-orchestrated smear campaign against Tesla, probably organized by powerful actors who wouldn't want Tesla to gain traction in the Chinese market.
Tesla began to win these cases this year, as more influencers confessed they made up the brake failure stories to get more engagement. In other cases, the investigation proved that the driver mistakenly pressed the accelerator instead of the brake pedal. In May, Tesla won a breakthrough case against Zhang Yazhou, the second in a longer list.
The funny thing was that Ms. Zhang had no problems with her Tesla. Instead, the other woman, whom we only know as "Ms. Li from Xi'an," claimed brake issues. Her car was involved in a crash in March 2021, and Ms. Li claimed the accident was caused by the brakes not working as they should. Tesla denied the accusation and sued the woman as it did in other cases.
On Wednesday, a Chinese court ordered the woman to publicly apologize to Tesla, pay damages, and cover vehicle evaluation fees. The verdict came after a court-appointed independent agency that evaluated Ms. Li's Tesla Model 3 found no issue with its brakes. Based on local media, Ms. Li was ordered to pay 2,000 yuan (280 USD) to Tesla for damages, cover the 25,390 yuan legal processing fee, and 20,000 yuan (2,800 USD) for vehicle evaluation.
Intriguingly, no new brake failure cases were reported in China this year, with the matter being almost forgotten. However, Tesla is now facing increased competition in the market from local carmakers, which might prove a lot harder to dismiss.
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