A woman in China was ordered to pay more than $20,000 for defaming Elon Musk's $1.1 trillion company and publicly apologize after her Tesla's brakes malfunctioned, sending both of her parents to the hospital.
Zhang Yazhou's father was driving her Tesla Model 3 in February 2021 when the brakes suddenly stopped working, The Associated Press reported. He crashed into two vehicles and a concrete barrier. While Yazhou and her 1-year-old niece were uninjured, her parents spent four days in the hospital while her father recovered from a concussion.
After Tesla denied her request to hand over her car's pre-crash data to help her family understand what happened, Yazhou staged a protest outside a Tesla dealership in Zhengzhou, China. She flew a banner reading, "Tesla brake failure." She did it again the next month; this time, outside of a car show.
Instead of conceding and providing the data, Tesla sued Yazhou for $684,000 in damages, alleging she deliberately spread false information to harm the brand. The automotive company won, and Yazhou was ordered to publicly apologize and pay $23,000 to cover Tesla's damages and legal costs.
She has since appealed the ruling because she wants companies, including Tesla, to be more transparent and accountable for their products.
"I refuse to accept it," Yazhou told AP, "As a consumer, even if I said something wrong, I have the right to comment and criticize. I spoke about my feelings as a user of the car. It has nothing to do with damaging their reputation."
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