Tesla sues customer for $1.08 million in China in defamation lawsuit

Tesla China is reportedly suing a customer for ¥5.05 million (AU$1.08 million) for defamation, following comments the man is claimed to have made on social media.

According to the South China Morning Post, Han Chao allegedly called the electric carmaker a “rogue company” following an earlier lawsuit in which he was awarded more than ¥1 million (AU$213,000) from Tesla.

On September 17, a Chinese court ruled that a second-hand Tesla Model S he had purchased was fraudulently advertised as not having been in any traffic accidents, when it was later discovered the vehicle’s bodywork had been repaired.

Following comments he made boasting of his legal win, Tesla China began defamation proceedings against him.

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A Model S in China, unrelated to the court case

The company reportedly issued a statement defending the move, saying: “Han has been spreading his words through a series of online and offline actions…leading the public to have a negative impression of Tesla, causing damage to the company’s reputation.”

Han responded on Chinese social media website Weibo, writing: “Do you mean to say, even though you need to pay me more than ¥1 million in compensation, even though I am the victim – I cannot say a bad word about you and need to pay ¥5 million as a price?”

It’s not the first time the company’s Chinese arm has been accused of silencing its critics. In June, the Financial Times reported Tesla had threatened legal action against Chinese bloggers – with a number of public apologies issued following the threats.

The original article in the South China Morning Post was picked up by website Teslarati, which appears to have since deleted the post.