After being on the receiving end of a wave of negative news reports in recent months, things seem to be looking up for Tesla China. Amidst the efforts of Tesla’s legal team in China to weed out false reports and inaccuracies posted online about the company, a local news outlet has recently stepped forward to debunk one of the most unfounded rumors about Tesla’s vehicles.
People Auto Market, an online subsidiary of People’s Daily, the largest newspaper group in China, recently covered Tesla with a positive outlook. In a recent post, the news outlet highlighted that the pervading rumors of Tesla’s alleged “brake failure” incidents were false. The motoring publication accomplished this by testing the Model 3 and Model Y and having the vehicles stop at 60, 80, and 100 km/h (37, 49, and 62 mph).
To debunk the “brake failure” myth, People Auto Market tested Model 3/Y & brought them to stop at 60, 80 & 100 km/h and found no issues. The breaking distance is on par with what is specified. The test videos for both 🚗 will be released & “use facts to counteract skepticism”. https://t.co/ndjlYh218x pic.twitter.com/jBNdGI07HX
— Ray4Tesla⚡️🚘☀️🔋 (@ray4tesla) June 25, 2021
Just as argued by Tesla and the company’s supporters online, the Model 3 and Model Y’s brakes were found to have no issues. The motoring news outlet stated that the braking distance of the two all-electric vehicles was on par with what was specified by the company. People Auto Market has noted that videos of the vehicles’ tests will also be released to “use facts to counteract skepticism.”
The support from China’s largest newspaper group may pave the way for fairer media coverage in the country while putting unfounded rumors such as Tesla’s alleged “brake failure” incidents to rest. This should go a long way towards rebuilding Tesla’s image in the country, a task that is challenging but likely worth it considering just how valuable China is to Tesla’s operations.
Tesla 🇨🇳 Legal team went after a Tik Tok account, which posted a video showing Model X “brake failure”. Now they apologize for causing the negative effect to Tesla. The guy in the middle has owned his X for 3 yrs & never had any problems, saying the skit was 4 entertainment only. https://t.co/3c8ErewuBx pic.twitter.com/tZ8wi6EmPa
— Ray4Tesla⚡️🚘☀️🔋 (@ray4tesla) June 1, 2021
Tesla China and its legal department have adopted an assertive stance against misinformation. In May alone, several news outlets came out to admit that they published information about Tesla with zero evidence. Social media influencers have also posted retractions to videos accusing the company’s vehicles of having “brake failure” problems. One such apology even featured a Model X owner stating that his “brake failure” video, which attracted a substantial audience online, was just for “entertainment.”
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