Tesla sued Xiang Ligang, the director-general of the Beijing-based Information Consumption Alliance for alleged internet infringement, and the case will be heard at the Beijing Internet Court on May 24, according to company information searching platform Tianyancha. 

Xiang said on Wednesday that the cause of the case was his comment on Tesla’s response to a vehicle owner defending her right at the Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition on April 19, 2021. Xiang said that he just expressed his anger and dissatisfaction over Tesla’s arrogance following the company’s accusation that a conspiracy was behind the protest at the exhibition and lack of proper manner when communicating with the customer.

Xiang also noted that he had neither smeared the company nor represent a position for any corporate or power. He commented on news from multiple perspectives without any fabricated or defamatory content as an industry observer. 

Xiang added that Tesla’s legal action, which he alleged the company is using its economic power and judicial resources to stamp out criticism, is revealing the company’s arrogance once again.

On April 19, 2021, a woman leaped onto a Tesla car on display at the exhibition, wearing a T-shirt with the (Chinese) words "Tesla's brake fails" and started screaming in front of a crowd. Two men later forcibly removed the woman from Tesla's booth.

Tesla’s founder Elon Musk said at an online conference organized by the Financial Times that the US electronic car maker will not open a new factory in China in a short term, but will expand the Shanghai factory. Musk said that China is expected to account for about 30 percent of Tesla's total market size in the long run. 

Tesla's Shanghai factory delivered 1,512 vehicles in April, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed on Tuesday. In the first four months of 2022, the factory sold 183,686 cars worldwide, more than 1.7 times the number sold during the same period in 2021.

Global Times