- Tesla is so protective of its reputation in China it’s suing its own unhappy customers.
- The company prevailed in 11 cases against owners and journalists, AP reports.
- Chinese journalists told the AP they’ve been instructed not to write negative reviews.
Tesla and its cars are constantly in the news, but to ensure that news is as positive as possible the automaker is suing people with negative opinions, including its own customers, an investigation from the Associated Press has uncovered.
AP found evidence that Tesla had taken legal action against at least six owners in China who were complaining about quality problems or alleging that accidents they had were due to mechanical faults.
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And the news agency’s reporters also discovered Tesla had sued at least six bloggers and two Chinese media outlets that published negative comments about the brand. It’s winning, too. AP says of the 11 cases in which it could determine a verdict, Tesla has won every one. Another case was settled out of court and two are being appealed.
Tesla has also won dozens of the 81 cases owners have brought against the brand, investigators learned. Customers prevailed in only nine of the suits, which an industry expert AP spoke to described as an incredible ratio akin to “going to the casino and winning every hand,” given Tesla is a wholly foreign-owned automaker.
One Model 3 owner, Zhang Yazhou, believed a 2021 accident that resulted in her parents going to hospital was the result of the brakes failing on her EV. She made a public protest sitting on the top of her smashed-up sedan while holding a loudhailer, but Tesla sued her for defamation and won. Zhang was order to pay the equivalent of $23k and apologize, but she has refused.
“As a consumer, even if I said something wrong, I have the right to comment and criticize,” Zhang told AP. “I spoke about my feelings as a user of the car. It has nothing to do with damaging their reputation.”
Another owner, a blogger named Feng Shiming, was forced by a court to pay Tesla $34k after writing about alleged brake failures with his Chinese-spec Model S.
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Owners like Zhang are prepared to voice their complaints, but the same can’t be said for journalists, the report claims. Tesla has already sued several for their comments, and two media representatives told AP under conditions of anonymity they had been told not to write unflattering things about the company and its products because Tesla “is a key company that was introduced and protected by the Shanghai government.”
We asked Telsa for a comment on AP’s investigation but have yet to hear back.