According to an investigation by the Associated Press (AP), Tesla has won a defamation lawsuit against a Chinese woman, Zhang Yazhou. In February 2021, Zhang was a passenger in a Tesla Model 3, and allegedly, a brake failure caused an accident. As a result, her parents were hospitalized for four days.
Following the accident, Zhang publicly protested and filed a defamation lawsuit against Tesla. In response, Tesla also filed a lawsuit against her. A Chinese court ruled that Zhang must pay Tesla approximately $23,000 in damages and issue a public apology.
Although Zhang has appealed the decision, Tesla, under increasing pressure, released the vehicle's telemetry data. The data reportedly showed that the brakes had functioned correctly.
The report states that over the past four years, Tesla has sued at least six car owners in China who claimed mechanical issues with their vehicles.
Additionally, AP's investigation of China's government court database found that out of 81 civil lawsuits filed by Tesla owners against the company over safety, quality, or contract disputes, car owners won only nine cases. The report also notes that Tesla has sued at least six bloggers and two Chinese media outlets that published critical articles about the company.
