Chinese car journalists are told not to be negative on Tesla as it sues customers and media
A new scathing report about Tesla just came out in China. It describes how the automaker is becoming trigger-happy, suing its own customers and the media while auto journalists are being told not to be negative about the American automaker.
To this day, Tesla is the only foreign automaker with a wholly-owned car factory in China, although Toyota is expected to follow in a few years.
Elon Musk made the deal happen with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials back in 2018. Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai became the company’s biggest production hub and its biggest source of revenue and profit.
Tesla would never be where it is today without Gigafactory Shanghai and the Chinese market.
Now, we learn that Tesla is willing to go to great lengths to protect that.
The Associated Press (AP) has just released a fascinating in-depth report about Tesla’s activities in China regarding customers and the media.
The report centers around a new perspective on the highly publicized battle between Tesla and one of its Chinese customers who claimed a brake defect, but it also goes deeper by highlighting a shift in Tesla’s approach to criticism in China.
AP found that Tesla sued “at least six car owners in China who had sudden vehicle malfunctions, quality complaints or accidents they claimed were caused by mechanical failures.”
Tesla also sued “at least six bloggers and two Chinese media outlets that wrote critically about the company.”
This is highly unusual behavior for an automaker.
The report also highlights the close relationship between Tesla and CCP officials, especially Li Qiang, the former party boss of Shanghai who is now China’s premier. He was involved in the Gigafactory Shanghai deal.
It’s not news that Tesla benefited from preferential treatment in China, but the report goes quite a bit further.
AP alleges that local media are instructed not to be negative on Tesla:
Tesla has profited from the largesse of the Chinese state, winning unprecedented regulatory benefits, below-market rate loans and large tax breaks. With a few pointed exceptions, Tesla has enjoyed largely ingratiating coverage in the Chinese press, and journalists told AP they have been instructed to avoid negative coverage of the automaker.
A reporter told AP:
“We were told by our editor that we should not write negatively about Tesla because it is a key company that was introduced and protected by the Shanghai government.”
The report also explains how Tesla wins about 90% of the court cases filed against the automaker by customers who claim a defect.
Many customers complained of Tesla’s lack of communication, leading to filing lawsuits.
If they file lawsuits, they lose, and if they complain publicly, they are the ones getting sued by Tesla and forced to pay the company and make a public apology.
Electrek’s Take
That’s quite a report. It gave a new perspective on Ms. Zhang’s case. Her case made it to Western media in 2021-2022, but never with the level of detail in this report.
The facts are she got into an accident. She claimed it was due to a brake failure. Tesla claimed it was due to a driver mistake.
She felt compelled to protest Tesla over what she saw as a serious safety issue. She was quite persistent with it. Tesla sued her and won because she had no way to prove that a brake defect had caused the accident. She was forced to pay Tesla and make a public apology.
But we also learned that Tesla claimed that other entities were backing her despite no evidence of that whatsoever.
I think there’s room for reflection on Tesla’s part here. Is this what it wants to be: a company that sues its customers and media over criticism?
Like some customers said in the report, Tesla could have avoided much that by simply having better communications with customers.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Cumberland Forest Limited Partnership are turning former Appalachian coal mines into clean energy hubs. They just announced new agreements with Sun Tribe Development and ENGIE to build 14 solar farms and three battery storage systems across 360 acres in Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
This marks the second round of clean energy projects launched under TNC’s Cumberland Forest Project.
These projects aren’t just about clean energy – they’re about proving that clean energy can be developed on former Appalachian coal mines in a way that benefits the environment and local communities. The solar and storage hubs are expected to bring in more local tax revenue, create short-term construction jobs, and establish a community fund to support additional local initiatives.
Brad Kreps, TNC Clinch Valley director, said, “Developing projects on former coal mines – and in a way that engages with people in the local area so that communities can benefit – takes ingenuity, skill, and determination. Ultimately, we selected Sun Tribe and ENGIE, two experienced developers that have a great interest in bringing this vision to life.”
Once online, these projects will generate around 49 megawatts (MW) of solar energy and 320 MW of battery storage – enough to power 6,638 Appalachian homes annually.
Sun Tribe’s projects will be in Virginia and Tennessee. It’s planning one 5 MW solar project and three utility-scale battery storage systems ranging from 80 MW to 150 MW. These storage projects will improve grid reliability and help cut costs for utility customers by reducing the need for future grid upgrades.
“Locating solar and battery storage on former mine lands makes perfect sense to us,” said Danny Van Clief, CEO of Sun Tribe Development. “These sites and the communities they rest within have powered our country for more than a century – all we have to do is reimagine them for today’s energy technology.”
ENGIE, meanwhile, is developing 13 community-scale solar projects across Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky that will take advantage of Inflation Reduction Act incentives to help keep costs down. They’ll range in size from 1 MW to 6 MW, bringing clean energy access to more local communities.
“ENGIE is thrilled to collaborate on the development of these projects with The Nature Conservancy,” says Kristen Fornes, ENGIE head of distributed solar and storage. “These initiatives not only contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions but also generate employment opportunities, rejuvenate local communities, and enhance access to clean energy in areas where it is most needed.”
This latest announcement builds on previous first-round work by TNC, Sun Tribe, and Dominion Energy to bring renewable energy to Appalachia. Since 2021, Sun Tribe and Dominion Energy have been working on plans to generate 140 MW of renewable energy across eight sites in the Cumberland Forest. The first project, Wildcats Solar, is a 10 MW array planned for Wise County, Virginia. Expected to start construction by 2026, it’s projected to generate $800,000 in tax revenue for the community over its lifetime. Additional projects from the first round are set to be online by 2029.
Read more: Renewables provided 90% of new US capacity in 2024 – FERC
If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
The US State Department’s procurement forecast for the 2025 budget includes an item called “Armored Teslas” worth $400 million.
But worry not; it was approved under the Biden Administration, so Elon Musk’s DOGE will undoubtedly eliminate this waste. Right?
Elon Musk and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are currently examining a large amount of US government spending.
It’s unclear if he got to the US State Department’s procurement forecast because there are a few interesting lines that would give auditors second thoughts.
The most interesting one is “Armored Tesla (Production Units)”, which is worth $400 million. Strangely, the item is listed under the NAICS code “311999 – All Other Miscellaneous Food Manufacturing.”
The program has a target for delivery in Q4 through the next 5 years.
There are several other similar and strange budgeted items that are linked to the wrong categories:
You have “ARMORED SEDAN” under “Soft Drink Manufacturing,” “ARMORED BMW X5/X7” under “Bottled Water Manufacturing,” and finally, ARMORED EV (NOT SEDAN) under “Ice Manufacturing.”
However, all these other armored vehicle-related items are budgeted at a fraction of the $400 million for Tesla vehicles ($50 million, $40 million, and $40 million, respectively).
The State Department procurement forecast website mentions that the list was last updated in December – before Trump entered office.
Electrek has contacted the State Department for a comment, and we will update you if we get an answer.
Tesla has claimed that its Cybertruck is “armored” and “bulletproof”, but its armored capacity is quite limited. It can likely deflect low-velocity bullets if they hit the doors, but that’s about it.
Other companies have been planning to modify the Cybertruck with higher levels of armor, like the partnership between Unplugged Performance and Archimedes Defense – pictured above.
Electrek’s Take
I am not against armored electric vehicles. If you need armored vehicles, you might as well make them electric.
However, this is certainly weird. Why does the State Department need $530 million worth of armored vehicles? And why is it listed under a bunch of unrelated categories that don’t make sense?
Sounds like a job for DOGE? However, Elon will need to recuse himself from that one, I guess.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports10 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway