Tesla besieged following auto show protest

While Tesla’s vice president successfully dodged a public appearance at the Boao Forum for Asia, the company can’t dodge powerful shockwaves after the dramatic protest staged at the Shanghai auto show, which included a government order for it to hand in vehicle data, a harsh- toned statement from Chinese discipline regulators criticizing its “arrogance,” as well as thousands of posts on China’s internet platforms mixing criticism and support.

The US electric vehicle ( EV) star is paying a price for not respecting Chinese customers despite spiraling sales data, experts said, adding that although this does not mean a Waterloo battle for Tesla, it does raise questions on the brand’s longterm success in China.

Tesla on Tuesday night also issued a new statement on China’s Twitter- like Sina Weibo, the third such statement after video of a woman surnamed Zhang from Central China’s Henan Province on Monday morning climbed a Model 3 at the Shanghai Auto Show 2021 to protest Tesla’s brake malfunctions went viral on China’s web platforms.

The woman is in police custody. Another car owner, a pregnant woman from Xi’an, Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province who went to protest along with the aforementioned woman, was given an administrative warning for disrupting public order.

In its latest statement, Tesla apologized for not being able to solve the complaints the car owners lodged.

The company also said it had estab

Photo: VCG Philonise Floyd ( 3rd from left), Attorney Ben Crump ( center) and Reverend Al Sharpton ( right) react following the verdict in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Tuesday. Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of AfricanAmerican George Floyd in a case that roiled the US for almost a year, reflecting deep racial divisions. ( See story on Pages 3, 17)