Associated Press suggests Tesla’s use of state influence in China to suppress criticism. The company has not convicted any Americans, but the Chinese have suffered.
Elon Musk’s company has filed a lawsuit against at least six owners of Tesl a in the country that reported sudden vehicle malfunctions, including unexplained brake failure over the past four years. Tesla has also sued at least six bloggers and two Chinese media outlets that criticized it.
According to the AP, the automaker has won at least eleven of these cases, with two more pending appeals and one settled out of court. For comparison, Tesla has not yet sued any American car owner, on the contrary. The agency quotes Automobility founder Bill Russo as saying:
«For Tesla, this percentage of times — is an anomaly. The odds are against you. It’s like going to a casino and winning every hand».
Given this aggressive and available data, the AP suggests that the electric car maker is using the «patronage of influential leaders of China’s ruling Communist Party to silence critics, receive financial rewards, and deflect responsibility». Chinese journalists told the AP that they were ordered to avoid «negative coverage». Tesla also benefits from cheap loans and tax breaks in the country.
Reports of brake malfunctions on Tesla cars in China emerged in 2021 and sparked fierce debate as to whether the victims had invented the malfunctions while working for the company’s competitors. Since then, there have been several cases where Chinese owners of American electric cars have asked apology on social media for allegations of faulty Tesla brakes. Interestingly, Tesla controls driver data and could theoretically change it to blame critics.
The AP also found that overall, car owners in China won only nine of 81 civil court decisions related to complaints about safety and quality issues or contract disputes. Elon Musk has met with former Communist Party leader and current Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang on several occasions, which underscores his close relationship with the Chinese state. Now that the world’s richest man has great influence in the White House, auto safety advocates are wary of suppressing any criticism.
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