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Tesla appears to be going on the offensive in China after allegedly suing two former customers for defamation over comments they made about the car brand.
Over the past year, Tesla has struggled with its reputation in China.
Local media focused on some Tesla vehicles that caught on fire, autopilot accidents and, most notably, the demonstration at Tesla’s booth at the Shanghai Auto Show.
Tesla has started hiring more PR executives to handle what some saw as a PR crisis in China, but now it looks like Tesla is going on the offensive by using lawyers instead of PR.
According to a new report from South China Morning Post, Tesla is suing Han Chao, a former Tesla owner, for defamation following critical posts he posted on social media:
Images of the complaint released by Han indicated that the lawsuit stemmed from previous publications that described Tesla as a “rogue company”, “Tesla garbage” and “such a charlatan.”
Tesla wrote in the complaint:
“Han has conveyed his words through a series of actions online and offline… leading the public to have a negative impression of Tesla, causing damage to the company’s reputation.”
Han’s troubles with Tesla began after he purchased a used Tesla Model S directly from the company in May 2019.
Tesla reportedly listed the car as having “no major accidents, no structural damage and had never been the victim of a fire or flood.”
A few months later, the vehicle stopped while driving. The customer wanted a new car, but Tesla only offered to replace the defective parts.
Han had the vehicle evaluated by a third party who found evidence that the entire C-pillar had been replaced, which would contradict Tesla’s previous claim.
The customer decided to sue Tesla over this matter and was awarded compensation of 1 million yuan (approximately $ 155,000) because the court sided with him.
Han continued to comment on his experience with Tesla on social media, and now Tesla appears to be fighting back against those comments through this new libel lawsuit.
Tesla is claiming up to 5.05 million yuan (~ $ 650,000) for libel and demanding an apology.
Separately, Tesla is also said to have sued Zhang Yazhou, the daughter of a Tesla owner who was involved in an accident she blamed on Tesla for defamation:
She has organized several protests against Tesla, including the widely publicized one at the Shanghai Auto Show.
In this case, Tesla is suing her for libel after she herself sued Tesla for libel earlier this year after Tesla released her side of the story behind the Shanghai auto show protest.
She asked for 50,000 yuan (~ $ 7,700 USD).
In his own libel suit, Tesla asks up to 5.05 million yuan (~ US $ 650,000), as was the case with Han last week.
Electrek‘stake
It is a slippery road that Tesla is entering. Usually you don’t see these libel suits coming from strong brands, which I think is Tesla. This is not beautiful.
However, in these cases, Tesla appears to only counterattack people who have already used the courts against the company.
I don’t have enough information on each specific case to comment on much more than that, but it’s certainly an interesting development that Tesla sees the need to pursue for defamation in China.
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