This doesn't look good in more ways than one.
www.cnbc.com
I've been following this for a while, and frankly, something stinks.
This all started at a big auto show where some woman crawled up on top of a Tesla wearing a shirt that said "BRAKES DON'T WORK" and made a scene.
She was arrested and sentenced to 5 days in jail for it. But it doesn't end there.
It then comes to light that this lady alleges to have had a wreck in her Tesla because her brakes failed.
Tesla claims that she wrecked because she was speeding.
The woman wanted a full refund for the car, but Tesla refused. Apparently, they've been haggling with the woman for months.
So all of that hits Chinese social media and all of a sudden people are coming out of the woodwork claiming their brakes are failing as well.
Then, just yesterday, China slaps Tesla with a public reprimand:
“The arrogant and overbearing stance the company exhibited in front of the public is repugnant and unacceptable, which could inflict serious damage on its reputation and customer base in the Chinese market."
So here's my take: China has been touting Tesla as an example of how it's friendly to foreign investors and business. I think they didn't expect Tesla to do as well as it has, so now they're cooking up all this crap to turn people off to Tesla so that they'll start buying Chinese made electric cars.
If I'm right, it's very, very bad for Tesla. I don't see Tesla surviving a state run smear campaign from the Chinese government.
Tesla branded as 'arrogant' in China as pressure mounts on the electric car maker
Tesla has been a poster child for China's efforts to demonstrate it's letting more foreign businesses operate in its market. But with success comes scrutiny.
I've been following this for a while, and frankly, something stinks.
This all started at a big auto show where some woman crawled up on top of a Tesla wearing a shirt that said "BRAKES DON'T WORK" and made a scene.
She was arrested and sentenced to 5 days in jail for it. But it doesn't end there.
It then comes to light that this lady alleges to have had a wreck in her Tesla because her brakes failed.
Tesla claims that she wrecked because she was speeding.
The woman wanted a full refund for the car, but Tesla refused. Apparently, they've been haggling with the woman for months.
So all of that hits Chinese social media and all of a sudden people are coming out of the woodwork claiming their brakes are failing as well.
Then, just yesterday, China slaps Tesla with a public reprimand:
“The arrogant and overbearing stance the company exhibited in front of the public is repugnant and unacceptable, which could inflict serious damage on its reputation and customer base in the Chinese market."
So here's my take: China has been touting Tesla as an example of how it's friendly to foreign investors and business. I think they didn't expect Tesla to do as well as it has, so now they're cooking up all this crap to turn people off to Tesla so that they'll start buying Chinese made electric cars.
If I'm right, it's very, very bad for Tesla. I don't see Tesla surviving a state run smear campaign from the Chinese government.
