Showroom of Tesla in Urumqi, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Photo: Weibo account of Tesla

Tesla China said that it is filing a lawsuit against a Chinese social media influencer "Xiaogang Xuezhang Ao" who has 884,000 followers on Chinese social media Weibo, for alleged infringement of Tesla's reputation.  

"Xiaogang Xuezhang Ao" on April 29 and 30, 2021, posted two video clips showing AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking) tests of Tesla's Model 3 and Chinese electric car maker Xpeng's P7. The video showed that Xpeng P7 stopped before hitting a simulated passer-by made of paper, but the Tesla Model 3 failed the test crashing into the object. 

Tesla suggested that the test conducted by "Xiaogang Xuezhang Ao" was not scientific. Tesla said some netizens found out the energy bar of Tesla Model 3 showed "Xiaogang Xuezhang Ao" stepped on the accelerate-pedal. 

Tesla also noted that Model 3 received "Good" marks in various vehicle safety tests conducted by official organizations, including CIRI Auto Technology Institute, The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Euro NCAP.

Netizens expressed different attitudes toward the case. Sina Weibo user "Mu Ling Ye" said she is not a Tesla vehicle owner but supported Tesla using the law to defend its rights. However, there were netizens who say Tesla's brake failure had been the subject of repeated news headlines, suggesting that Tesla's vehicles may have quality issues. 

Weibo user "Xiaote Shushu" said in his video that Tesla's AEB used different radar reflection rates when countering different barriers such as plastic or metals in cars' bumpers. Thus, testing AEB with passer-by and vehicle target made of paper was not accurate, said "Xiaote Shushu."

"Xiaogang Xuezhang Ao" said in a Sina Weibo post that "OK, I see" on Wednesday without any other comment. Tesla China said they had launched a lawsuit against the netizen.

Global Times