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It started last week when a Tesla Model S sitting in a Shaghai parking garage suddenly caught fire, burning up a few cars around it. No one is injured and Tesla is investigating the blaze.
The answer to that on Weibo, China's massive microblog, was swift and brutal, according to the Global Times:
Tesla should be barred from entering garages just like Samsung Note 7s were banned from boarding, "one person with the web name chulvsh wrote on a microblog on Wednesday. "Tesla owners in China." We can endure water leakage, rough workmanship, random price cuts, worn tires. "But now Tesla is threatening our safety with super-fast, self-burning speed. endure that, "Another person with the web name Miu Hongyang wrote in a microblog on Monday.
Tesla broke ground on a factory in Shanghai in January, taking out a $ 500 million loan from a syndicate of Chinese banks to complete the project. It's supposed to be churning out cars by the end of this year – Wall Street has its doubts about that timeline – and that's going to be back to creditors next March.
Tesla's success in the country matters a great deal, especially in Europe and the US. China has also become a huge market for electric vehicles, but it is becoming more and more of a reality.
"As long as it's a foreign brand and the people are not getting TOO fired up [the government] "You, the consultant and founder of Sino Auto Insights, told Business Insider.
As for the fire, he added: "If the Chinese government thought they could gain leverage [on Tesla] or thought it was a real danger they can do something, but right now I think they believe it's a 'one off.' "
One off or not, the Shanghai fire has opened a window to state media to criticize Tesla. A few days after the incident, The Global Times ran stories highlighting issues with two other aspects of Tesla 's presence in China – its sales to local companies and its factory build out.
To the first point, Tesla's business in China.
As Anne Stevenson-Yang of investment firm J Capital Research wrote back in 2016:
… Tesla, which has a corona of glamor in the China market, seems to be … Tesla debuted its Model S in China in April 2014 and derived 15.3% of its revenue from China in 2014 But registrations did not keep track with sales, as did many vehicles in the Tesla's bonded warehouse. Most buyers, it turned out, used their Tesla for commercial purposes, whether or not they belonged to the marketplace, or to their affluence to potential buyers.
Enter Shenma, vehicles from 2016 to 2017, according to The Global Times. The company is currently seeking compensation from Tesla, claiming that Tesla sold it defective vehicles. To alert the world to this fact, Shenma put up a billboard in Times Square.
The, for what it's worth, considers the billboard nothing more than a PR stunt.
"They wanted to bragging rights for themselves on their own turf, they knew it would get here," he said. "They probably got a little bump in downloads for their app because of it."
Then there's the Shanghai factory. Tesla has already been getting flack on Wall Street for its timeline, and this weekend The Global Times joined the chorus. Citing experts, the publication reported that "the rapid construction speed might lead to some problems such as insufficient testing of equipment."
The agreed.
"I think with how aggressive they're being with that plant." They're headed down to the same 'manufacturing hell' road and have a good chance of repeating mistakes and underestimating the challenge of building a new country, "he said.
These problems matter, but only so much. As here in the US, Tesla's image in China is inextricably tied to that of its flamboyant CEO.
"As long as the Chinese still revere Elon [Musk] for being an 'innovative leader' Tesla will be fine. I'd keep track of feeling about him, "he said.
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