With great influence, comes great responsibility.
One social media influencer in China has drawn the ire of Tesla, after he shared footage of the electric car manufacturer’s automatic brake system failing to his millions of followers.
According to a report by Protocol, Tesla’s China office has confirmed it is suing “car influencer” Xiaogang Xuezhang for defamation. In the video, a Tesla’s automatic brakes fail during a comparo with an XPeng P7 Chinese-made EV.
Two videos were shared by Xuezhang on the social media platform Douyin, with one having since been deleted. The report says that in the footage, the Tesla’s automatic brakes fail twice, which leads to a collision with a cardboard car and mannequin.
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Xuezhang has since responded to Tesla’s lawsuit, accusing the brand of sharing his personal information and promoting the legal action it has taken against him.
“On the surface, it looks like Tesla is suing me; deep down, it’s making an example of me,” he said in a video uploaded to his Douyin account.
Tesla isn’t the only one that has its sights set on debunking Xuezhang’s footage. According to the report, Tesla owners and other social media influencers are also speculating he may have committed a driving error during the test.
This isn’t the first time Tesla has cracked down on negative publicity in the Chinese market. The report also adds that the company has already resorted to suing two owners who publicly called the brand out on safety issues and that it has also sent cease-and-desist letters to other influencers. What do you think of how Tesla is handling this situation?
