Tesla Said To Sue China Model 3 Owner Who Protested At Shanghai Auto Show For Defamation

Tesla Inc. TSLA is suing a protester in China for defamation, according to a report by Teslarati, citing local sources.

What Happened: Tesla China has filed a lawsuit against Zhang Yazhou, a Model 3 owner whose protest at the Shanghai Auto Show in April featured in a viral video, as per the report.

Tesla has also reportedly demanded an apology from Zhang and retribution of RMB 5 million ($784,000) for damages caused to the brand.

Zhang had filed a defamation lawsuit against Tesla in May, demanding an apology and RMB 50,000 ($7,840) from the electric vehicle maker. She had protested against Tesla’s brake issues earlier too.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Daily reported that Tesla has initiated legal proceedings against another Chinese customer, Han Chao, for RMB 5 million. The company accused the customer of tainting its reputation following his outburst on social media.

See Also: Elon Musk Showers More Praises On China, Says Tesla Will Continue To Invest In The Country

Why It Matters: Tesla had suffered a backlash at the Shanghai Auto show, with protestors alleging their vehicles were plagued by malfunctioning brakes. The incident snowballed into controversy and led to the Elon Musk-led company apologizing to Zhang as well as other Tesla car owners.

Chinese officials had raised concerns in February about safety issues with Tesla related to rapid acceleration and battery fires after it investigated two Tesla subsidiaries.

The Palo Alto-based company has been drawing increasing attention over its vehicle safety in the U.S. too.

Price Action: Tesla closed 0.5% higher in Wednesday’s regular trading at $781.31.

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