Elon Musk’s Tesla has taken legal action against its own customers and members of the media in China over critical comments — and emerged victorious in almost every case.
ABC News reports that when Zhang Yazhou’s father crashed his Tesla Model 3 in China in February 2021, she was shocked. But what stunned her even more was that Tesla sued her for defamation after she spoke out publicly about issues with the car’s brakes — and won. Zhang was ordered by a Chinese court to pay Tesla over $23,000 in damages and issue a public apology.
Zhang’s case is not an isolated incident. The Associated Press found that over the past four years, Tesla has filed lawsuits against at least six car owners in China who experienced various problems with their vehicles, ranging from malfunctions to accidents allegedly caused by mechanical failures. The EV giant has also taken legal action against at least six bloggers and two Chinese media outlets for publishing critical content about the company. Remarkably, Tesla prevailed in all eleven cases where the AP could ascertain the verdicts.
This forceful legal approach by Musk’s Tesla in China has effectively silenced critics, benefited the company financially, and reduced its liability. Tesla has reaped substantial rewards from Chinese government support, securing unprecedented regulatory concessions, discounted loans, and significant tax incentives. The company has also benefited from mostly favorable coverage in Chinese media.
However, this has come at the expense of Chinese consumers. The AP’s analysis revealed that in cases brought by customers against Tesla relating to safety, quality, or contractual disputes, the automaker won nearly 90 percent of the time. Some experts find it extraordinary for a foreign company to have such a high success rate in Chinese courts.
Tesla’s business and political triumphs in China are largely credited to the backing of Li Qiang, the former Shanghai party chief who now serves as China’s premier. Under his leadership, Tesla opened its first factory outside the U.S. in Shanghai in 2019 and received numerous government perks and allowances.
Breitbart News has extensively documented Musk’s close relationship with Communist China. From praising Chinese people as the smartest and hardest working to swearing to uphold “core socialist values.”
Read more at ABC News here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
