Tesla Nets $7,750 And Apology From Owner Who Alleged Break-Related Fault Led To Crash

An owner of a Tesla Inc TSLA made electric vehicle who posted several short videos on ByteDance’s Douyin, as TikTok is known in China, alleging faulty brakes, was reportedly required to apologize and pay a hefty fine of RMB 50,000 or $7,750 by a local court.

What Happened: The Tesla owner in Wenzhou, China posted the videos on Aug. 16, 2020, claiming break-related issues, CnEVPost reported.

The fault, as per the Tesla owner Chen, caused his Model 3 to crash into a dozen vehicles before coming to a halt and injuring him.

Chen told the media that the vehicle he was driving at the time of the accident did not have assisted driving feature turned on at the time, and the accident was caused by a sudden loss of control post acceleration. 

Inspections by the local traffic department commissioned by the Wenzhou Automotive Engineering Society showed that the car’s brake pedal was in the state of being unpressed for five seconds before the crash took place, as per CnEVPost.

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Why It Matters: Chen subsequently admitted that brakes were not pressed at the time, but the accelerator pedal was pressed by mistake, as per CnEVPost.

The Wenzhou Lucheng District People's Court found that the vehicle owner posted factually incorrect information on social media that damaged the reputation of Tesla even after inspection results were made, which caused misconceptions about Tesla among internet users and viewers of media.

Last month, Tesla sued a Model 3 owner, Zhang Yazhou, who protested at the Shanghai Auto Show on issues related to brakes, a video of the incident subsequently went viral. 

The Elon Musk-led company is demanding an apology in that instance and retribution of RMB 5 million ($784,000) for damages caused to its brand.

Yazhou in turn has also filed a defamation suit against Tesla demanding an apology and RMB 50,000.

The U.S. automaker has also reportedly sued a Chinese customer, Han Chao, for RMB 5 million accusing him of tainting its reputation following his social media outburst.

Price Action: On Monday, Tesla shares closed nearly 0.8% higher at $791.94 in the regular session.

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