There are continued questions about the safety of ever-advancing car community, and while Tesla boasts that its "vehicles are engineered to be the safest cars in the world," there have been several concerning headlines about crashes and fatalities.
One incident showed a wrecked Cybertruck where everyone miraculously survived, suggesting that Tesla vehicles are at least living up to their safety promises in terms of design.
However, if a car is genuinely at fault, you might expect a company to hold its hands up and admit wrongdoing.
One Tesla owner involved in a crash was forced to pay the electric vehicle giant and apologize to the $1.1 trillion company.
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As reported by the AP, Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she heard her father shout that the brakes weren't working as they were heading toward a red light.
With Yazhou's father swerving, he hit an SUV and a sedan before smashing into a concrete barrier.
Traffic police said that the crash was the fault of Yazhou's father because he hadn't kept a safe following distance from the vehicle in front, but she maintained that it was an issue with the brakes.
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After filing a complaint with a local market regulator and asking Tesla for the crash data, she also requested a refund and compensation. She says that Tesla refused and explained: "Tesla’s employees were very arrogant and tough in dealing with my complaints. I was burning with anger."
After being hit with radio silence, Yazhou parked her damaged car in front of a Tesla dealership in Zhengzhou and draped it with a banner that said, "Tesla brake failure." While sitting on the roof, she says she picked up a megaphone and shouted: "Tesla Model 3 brakes failed. A family of four almost died." This was followed by her parking her damaged Model 3 outside an auto show in Zhengzhou the following month.
The scorned Yazhou and several others stormed a Shanghai auto show in April 2021, but after going viral on social media, a Tesla executive claimed that she was acting on behalf of a competitor or the Chinese government.
Although Yazhou tried to sue Tesla for defamation, she found herself on the other end of a defamation suit from the car company...and lost. As well as being ordered to issue a public apology, Yazhou was told to pay the EV company over $23,000 in damages.
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Tesla eventually released the crash data, showing that her father had been driving at around 120 km per hour and that the brakes had functioned correctly.
Still, AP adds that Tesla has sued six car owners in China - all apparently for complaining about mechanical failures or vehicle malfunctions.
More than this, the outlet claims that at least six bloggers and two Chinese media outlets have been successfully sued. Out of the 11 cases AP could account for, the Chinese courts always found in Tesla's favor. At the time of writing, Yazhou's and another case are on appeal while another was settled out of court.
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Even as Yazhou's appeal rumbles on, the odds are stacked against her. She remains defiant, telling AP: "I refuse to accept it. 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."
UNILAD Tech has reached out to Tesla but hasn't received a response at the time of writing.