Tesla has sued its own customers and journalists in China for defamation – and won just about every time.

Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes don’t work! Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into an SUV and a sedan and crashing into a large concrete barrier.

Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the car’s brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than $23,000 in damages and publicly apologize to the $1.1 trillion company.

Zhang is not the only one to find herself in the crosshairs of Tesla, which is led by Elon Musk, among the richest men in the world and a self-described “ free speech absolutist.” Over the last four years, Tesla has sued at least six car owners in China who had sudden vehicle malfunctions, quality complaints or accidents they claimed were caused by mechanical failures.

    • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
      7·
      5 hours ago

      https://insideevs.com/news/505015/tesla-response-china-protestor/

      The car eventually went to a local service shop, but Tesla says Zhang sealed the doors so nobody would be able to get inside the car.

      Tesla also says she refused an offer to have the car’s brakes independently tested by a third party.

      From Tesla Directly

      On March 6, Ms. Zhang once again declared that she would reject any form of vehicle testing, and requested to return the vehicle and compensate for mental damage, medical expenses, and lost work expenses. In the Tesla store, a banner that reads “Brake Failure” was posted on the car body, and attention was drawn by means of pulling up banners and using speakers to spread Tesla’s negative comments, affecting the normal operating order of the store. Tesla staff have offered to advance the third-party inspection fees several times, but Ms. Zhang has always refused. Because of the greater impact of his “rights protection” behavior, the local police station sent out police officers to provide on-site persuasion on many occasions.”

      “Since February, we have been doing our best to actively communicate with Ms. Zhang and her family. We sincerely hope that we can promote vehicle inspection as soon as possible and give a result to the friends who care about Tesla."

      Edit: And obviously, this is just Tesla’s statements on the matter, but I haven’t ever seen anything to contradict their claims, and she lost in court and was forced to apologize. I imagine if you read Chinese you could find more sources or even court documents reiterating the seals/refusal stances.

      • ayyy@sh.itjust.works
        4·
        3 hours ago

        “Independent” “third party” seems unlikely, she made the right call. No brake company wants to be on the bad side of a major auto manufacturer.

        • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
          3·
          3 hours ago

          Okay, but what are your expectations when you refuse to let an OEM look at the vehicle after an accident, refuse 3rd party testing, and then go around disrupting events and stores making claims you can’t back up and refuse to let anyone to verify?

          • ayyy@sh.itjust.works
            4·
            2 hours ago

            Why didn’t Tesla present its telemetry data? They are the ones suing so the burden of proof is on them.

            • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
              2·
              2 hours ago

              She refused access to the car, that level of data probably needs access. Its very low level stuff like dual independent voltages read by the brakes as the pedal is depressed. 100% though it WAS there if they had access to the vehicle.

              It also might not even be possible if data sharing is off or without consent.