Week Two Discussion 2

Tesla Apologizes for Its Handling of China Customer After Outcry; Car maker's public apology follows criticism from Communist Party body that the company is arrogant and sells defective products Moss, Trefor . Moss, Trefor. 

ProQuest document link

FULL TEXT SHANGHAI—Tesla Inc., hit by a widespread outcry over its handling of consumer complaints in China, has issued a public

apology and pledged to set up a customer-satisfaction unit as the electric-car maker seeks to overcome its latest stumble in

the fast-growing market.

A protest by an aggrieved Tesla customer at the Auto Shanghai expo on Monday sparked an online backlash against the U.S.

car maker. The protester alleged that faulty brakes on her family's Model 3 sedan had caused a crash that left her parents

needing hospital treatment earlier this year. Last month, in response to earlier protests by the same person, Tesla issued a

statement saying that the woman's father had been speeding at the time of the crash, citing a police report.

"We apologize for failing to resolve the problem of the car owner in time," Tesla said late Tuesday local time on its official

account on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform. "We will try our best to learn the lessons of this experience."

Hours earlier, the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, a high-level Communist Party body that oversees the

country's legal apparatus, accused Tesla of arrogance and of endangering Chinese consumers by selling defective products.

"Tesla has to face up to the torment of its Chinese customers" and stop "pretending to be oblivious to hidden dangers of

which it's well aware," the commission said in a post on social-media platform WeChat.

In its apology, Tesla pledged to establish a unit that would focus on delivering customer satisfaction. Tesla said it obeys

decisions of government departments, respects consumers, and actively cooperates with all investigations.

Its statement didn't directly address the allegations of faulty brakes or other quality shortcomings.

Tesla has faced mounting customer complaints in China over quality issues in recent months. Regulators in Beijing

summoned Tesla for a rare public rebuke over its quality record in February, prompting the company to promise to make

improvements. Last month, Chief Executive Elon Musk was forced to reassure Chinese officials and consumers that Tesla

cars couldn't be used to spy on China , following a government move to ban military personnel and staff from key state-

owned companies from driving its cars in case the vehicles posed a security risk.

China is a fast-growing market that Mr. Musk has said will become the company's largest. China hosts Tesla's only

operational plant outside the U.S.

Though the auto-show protester, a Ms. Zhang, from China's central Henan province, was bundled away by security guards

and later detained by the police, videos of her standing atop a Model 3 sedan and railing against the company went viral on

the Chinese internet. The images amassed more than 150 million views within a few hours and fueled a passionate online

debate about Tesla's treatment of local consumers and about the quality of its cars.

Ms. Zhang has demanded a full refund, according to Tesla.

Grace Tao, a company vice president who is one of Tesla's top executives in China, told local media at the show Monday

that the company had previously tried to resolve its dispute with Ms. Zhang, but that the company "cannot meet

unreasonable demands." Ms. Zhang, she said, was a "professional" protester who may have been acting on behalf of

individuals who wanted to cause trouble for Tesla.

That stance prompted Xinhua, a state-run news agency, to publish a commentary on Tuesday that questioned whether

Tesla had handled the complaint with decency. "As a star brand in the auto industry, Tesla's own standards for quality and

its commitment to users ought to live up to the market's expectations," it said.

Ms. Zhang couldn't be contacted for comment.

More Tesla News

In its apology Tuesday, Tesla thanked customers for their tolerance.

"We will keep listening to customer feedback, keep optimizing the customer experience, and keep serving every customer

well," it said.

Tesla sold 35,478 locally built Model 3 and Model Y cars in China last month, according to the China Passenger Car

Association—by far its best monthly performance in the country as it ramps up output from its Shanghai plant.

Write to Trefor Moss at [email protected]

Tesla Apologizes for Its Handling of China Customer After Outcry

Credit: By Trefor Moss DETAILS

Business indexing term: Subject: Consumers Customer feedback; Corporation: Tesla Inc; Industry: 81394 : Political Organizations

Subject: Consumers; Customer feedback; Apologies; Political parties; Defective products

Location: China; United States--US

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Publication year: 2021

Publication date: Apr 21, 2021

column: Technology

Section: Tech

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc.

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States

Publication subject: Business And Economics

e-ISSN: 25749579

Source type: Blog, Podcast, or Website

Language of publication: English

Document type: New s

ProQuest document ID: 2515568063

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Document URL: https://go.openathens.net/redirector/nu.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/blogs- podcasts-websites/tesla-apologizes-handling-china-customer- after/docview/2515568063/se-2?accountid=25320

Copyright: Copyright 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Full text availability: This publication may be subject to restrictions within certain markets, including corporations, non-profits, government institutions, and public libraries. In those cases records will be visible to users, but not full text.

Last updated: 2025-02-07

Database: ProQuest One Academic

Tesla Apologizes for Its Handling of China Customer After Outcry; Car maker's public apology follows criticism from Communist Party body that the company is arrogant and sells defective products Moss, Trefor . Moss, Trefor. 

ProQuest document link

FULL TEXT SHANGHAI—Tesla Inc., hit by a widespread outcry over its handling of consumer complaints in China, has issued a public

apology and pledged to set up a customer-satisfaction unit as the electric-car maker seeks to overcome its latest stumble in

the fast-growing market.

A protest by an aggrieved Tesla customer at the Auto Shanghai expo on Monday sparked an online backlash against the U.S.

car maker. The protester alleged that faulty brakes on her family's Model 3 sedan had caused a crash that left her parents

needing hospital treatment earlier this year. Last month, in response to earlier protests by the same person, Tesla issued a

statement saying that the woman's father had been speeding at the time of the crash, citing a police report.

"We apologize for failing to resolve the problem of the car owner in time," Tesla said late Tuesday local time on its official

account on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform. "We will try our best to learn the lessons of this experience."

Hours earlier, the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, a high-level Communist Party body that oversees the

country's legal apparatus, accused Tesla of arrogance and of endangering Chinese consumers by selling defective products.

"Tesla has to face up to the torment of its Chinese customers" and stop "pretending to be oblivious to hidden dangers of

which it's well aware," the commission said in a post on social-media platform WeChat.

In its apology, Tesla pledged to establish a unit that would focus on delivering customer satisfaction. Tesla said it obeys

decisions of government departments, respects consumers, and actively cooperates with all investigations.

Its statement didn't directly address the allegations of faulty brakes or other quality shortcomings.

Tesla has faced mounting customer complaints in China over quality issues in recent months. Regulators in Beijing

summoned Tesla for a rare public rebuke over its quality record in February, prompting the company to promise to make

improvements. Last month, Chief Executive Elon Musk was forced to reassure Chinese officials and consumers that Tesla

cars couldn't be used to spy on China , following a government move to ban military personnel and staff from key state-

owned companies from driving its cars in case the vehicles posed a security risk.

China is a fast-growing market that Mr. Musk has said will become the company's largest. China hosts Tesla's only

operational plant outside the U.S.

Though the auto-show protester, a Ms. Zhang, from China's central Henan province, was bundled away by security guards

and later detained by the police, videos of her standing atop a Model 3 sedan and railing against the company went viral on

the Chinese internet. The images amassed more than 150 million views within a few hours and fueled a passionate online

debate about Tesla's treatment of local consumers and about the quality of its cars.

Ms. Zhang has demanded a full refund, according to Tesla.

Grace Tao, a company vice president who is one of Tesla's top executives in China, told local media at the show Monday

that the company had previously tried to resolve its dispute with Ms. Zhang, but that the company "cannot meet

unreasonable demands." Ms. Zhang, she said, was a "professional" protester who may have been acting on behalf of

individuals who wanted to cause trouble for Tesla.

That stance prompted Xinhua, a state-run news agency, to publish a commentary on Tuesday that questioned whether

Tesla had handled the complaint with decency. "As a star brand in the auto industry, Tesla's own standards for quality and

its commitment to users ought to live up to the market's expectations," it said.

Ms. Zhang couldn't be contacted for comment.

More Tesla News

In its apology Tuesday, Tesla thanked customers for their tolerance.

"We will keep listening to customer feedback, keep optimizing the customer experience, and keep serving every customer

well," it said.

Tesla sold 35,478 locally built Model 3 and Model Y cars in China last month, according to the China Passenger Car

Association—by far its best monthly performance in the country as it ramps up output from its Shanghai plant.

Write to Trefor Moss at [email protected]

Tesla Apologizes for Its Handling of China Customer After Outcry

Credit: By Trefor Moss DETAILS

Business indexing term: Subject: Consumers Customer feedback; Corporation: Tesla Inc; Industry: 81394 : Political Organizations

Subject: Consumers; Customer feedback; Apologies; Political parties; Defective products

Location: China; United States--US

Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y.

Publication year: 2021

Publication date: Apr 21, 2021

column: Technology

Section: Tech

Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc.

Place of publication: New York, N.Y.

Country of publication: United States

Publication subject: Business And Economics

e-ISSN: 25749579

Source type: Blog, Podcast, or Website

Language of publication: English

Document type: New s

ProQuest document ID: 2515568063

LINKS Linking Service

Database copyright  2026 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. Terms and Conditions Contact ProQuest

Document URL: https://go.openathens.net/redirector/nu.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/blogs- podcasts-websites/tesla-apologizes-handling-china-customer- after/docview/2515568063/se-2?accountid=25320

Copyright: Copyright 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Full text availability: This publication may be subject to restrictions within certain markets, including corporations, non-profits, government institutions, and public libraries. In those cases records will be visible to users, but not full text.

Last updated: 2025-02-07

Database: ProQuest One Academic