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.
Yes, if it senses something in the way, it first beeps, then will apply brakes.
At least around here, you’d expect to sue, then Tesla would have to give evidence. I assume it’s same there
Instead the victim tried a public shaming without evidence. Here in the US, that’s not liable unless she knew it was false. Apparently there, damaging a corp’s reputation is liable, regardless of the truth (amusingly autocorrect keeps trying to spell “corp” as “corrupt”)