Image: Tesla
The wave of allegations against Tesla in China has already subsided as the manufacturer began cracking down on people making false accusations, through the courts. Tesla won another defamation lawsuit against a car reviewer in China.
On March 14, Tesla won a lawsuit against a prominent car reviewer and TikTok celebrity known as “Boss Cai” for damaging Tesla's reputation, according to CarNewsChina.com. In June 2022, Tesla sued him (civil name Cai Jia) for violating their good name by spreading false rumors through a video posted on his Douyin (TikTok) channel. The company demanded RMB 5 million ($720,000) in compensation.
In October 2022, the court found that the content of the video was fabricated and intended to insult and defame Tesla. Consequently, Boss Cai was ordered to publicly apologize to Tesla and compensate them for damages of RMB 100,000 ($14,500). However, Boss Cai appealed to the court, which he again lost. The second instance in the case opened on February 7, upheld the original verdict, which is now final. According to it, Boss Cai should publicly apologize to Tesla within 15 days.
In 2021, Boss Cai posted a video claiming that a friend of his who worked as a supplier to Tesla had identified some irregularities in its cooperation with suppliers. He claimed that while building the Tesla factory in Shanghai, the company repeatedly put pressure on its suppliers to cut prices. In addition, Tesla's quality inspectors did a poor job. According to false claims, they used their position for personal advantage, instead of fulfilling their obligations.
During the trial, Boss Cai was unable to prove what he accused Tesla of. In addition, he also could not invite his friend to testify, because, according to him, he forgot his name. Tesla also complained that Boss Cai promoted his company in the video and said it suspects he used false accusations against Tesla to increase his following and generate ad revenue.
© 2023, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.
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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts; follow him on Twitter
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
