A Tesla owner in China caused quite the scene at the Shanghai Auto Show over the weekend. According to local media reports and videos of the incident shared online, a woman jumped on top of a Model 3 on display at the auto show.
Wearing a shirt that said “Tesla Brake Failure”, she repeatedly shouted “Tesla brakes failed me.” At the same time what we assume to be security guards tried in vain to hide her from the crowd with little blue umbrellas.
Braking: protestor jumps on top of a Tesla during the SH Auto Show. A Model 3 owner, she claims to have nearly lost four of her family members in an accident after the brakes of her electric vehicle failed. pic.twitter.com/9S8F68qEh9
— jdiddymac (@jdiddymac) April 19, 2021
The apparent reason for her displeasure with Tesla started in February when she crashed her Tesla at 118km/h (73mph) in a 90km/h (55mph) zone. Claiming her brakes failed, local police determined the actual cause was her reckless driving.
That was backed up by data from the vehicle obtained by Tesla.
Despite offers by the automaker to reimburse costs associated with an independent third party analysis of the car, she has so far refused, instead deciding to stage protests similar to this one in the months since the accident.
According to an official statement from the Qingpu Branch of Shanghai Police, her latest antics have resulted in her arrest and being “sentenced to administrative detention for five days for disrupting public order.” (translated from Chinese).
Despite the claims of this lady, Tesla has experienced great success in China since opening Giga Shanghai in early 2020. As production has ramped up since then, Tesla sold more than 35,000 vehicles in the country last month, a new record for the automaker.
