SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Tesla Inc. came under heavy pressure in China on Wednesday from regulators and the state media after Monday’s protest from a disgruntled customer at the Shanghai Motor Show went viral and forced the manufacturer electric cars to apologize rarely.
The selection of Tesla from China, which accounts for 30% of the American company’s global sales and where it produces cars at its own factory in Shanghai, comes amid ongoing US-China tensions and as other foreign companies have encountered adverse reactions.
“China will continue to open its market to foreign affairs, but that does not mean that foreign companies will be given any privileges,” the Global Times, a tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party’s official daily, said in a statement. an opinion piece on “Tesla Blunder”.
On Monday, an unfortunate customer boarded a Tesla at the car show in protest of the company’s handling of the brake’s malfunctions, triggering a storm on social media with state regulators and the media.
Late Wednesday, the Chinese market regulator urged Tesla to ensure the quality of the country’s products, while the official Xinhua news agency said Tesla’s apology was “not sincere.”
“The arrogant and domineering position that the company has exposed to the public is repulsive and unacceptable, which could seriously damage the reputation and customer base of the Chinese market,” writes Global Times.
Tesla, whose cars are popular in China, declined to comment, but said in a statement that it would share data on the braking incident with regulators after a local regulator requested it.
In videos that went viral at Monday’s car show, a woman wearing a T-shirt with the words “Brakes on does not work” shouted similar accusations as staff and security struggled to restore calm.
Tesla on Tuesday apologized to Chinese consumers for not addressing the complaint in a timely manner and said it would launch a review of its service operations in the world’s largest car market.
However, the Xinhua news agency said Tesla’s apology failed.
“A big company should have the responsibility to be a big company, no company can do everything it wants,” he said in a comment Wednesday night.
“If a company doesn’t rectify when it has a problem, if it doesn’t change a problematic CEO … it will eventually make mistakes again,” he said.
‘ARROGANCE’
On Monday, Tesla’s vice president, Grace Tao, told a local press that “there is no possibility of Tesla compromising” and said she suspected there was someone to support the customer in the protest. The interview sparked accusations of “arrogance” from Tesla in the state media.
Meanwhile, the Global Times published a story about a fatal accident that allegedly involved a Tesla that “appeared online on Wednesday”, which it said raised problems with Tesla’s quality control.
Last month, Tesla was brought under control in China when the military banned cars from entering its complexes, citing security concerns about the cameras in its vehicles, sources told Reuters. Earlier this month, Tesla said the cameras in its cars were not activated outside of North America.
Chinese Internet users last month began calling for a boycott of brands, including H&M, Adidas and Nike, in previous statements, saying they do not use cotton in Xinjiang, where some foreign researchers and lawmakers say authorities are using coercive labor to satisfy seasonal needs, which China denies.
(Reporting in Shanghai and Beijing; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Steve Orlofsky and Marguerita Choy)