Court orders protester to apologize and pay defamation damage to Tesla

$Tesla(TSLA.US)$ $BYD COMPANY(01211.HK)$ $NIO Inc(NIO.US)$ $XPeng(XPEV.US)$ The article reported that Tesla China has secured a first trial win in its lawsuit against a Model 3 owner who conducted a dramatic protest at the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show. Ms. Zhang, the Model 3 owner in question, was ordered by the Shanghai Qingpu District People’s Court to apologize to the electric car maker and pay RMB 172,275 (over $23,000) in damages.

The court agreed with Tesla , with the judgment stating that Ms. Zhang’s actions were rashly carried out without any objective basis to prove her brake failure claims. The court concluded the lawsuit based on 4 important points:
1. As Ms. Zhang fought the police investigation’s findings, she did not present any data supporting her claims that her Model 3 experienced a brake failure.

2. As per local media publication The Paper, Ms. Zhang admitted at trial that her brake failure claims were subjective. The ruling noted that she also did not apply for a judicial appraisal of whether the vehicle’s brakes failed.
3. Ms. Zhang deliberately chose the media day of the Shanghai Auto Show to go to the Tesla booth area, made and wore a T-shirt with the words ‘brake failure’ printed on it in advance, climbed on the roof of the exhibition car and shouted ‘Tesla brake failure,’ deliberately using the on-site media to quickly and widely spread the unverified information. Her words and deeds clearly had the subjective intention and fault to discredit the reputation of Tesla Shanghai,” The Paper noted in its report.
4. Tesla, for its part, noted in its complaint against Ms. Zhang that her protest constituted defamation due to a lack of evidence. The court also rejected Ms. Zhang’s defense that she was not subjectively at fault in the incident.
My Take: Tesla also won another defamation lawsuit against rival BYD's dealer defamation. Read here:
Tesla Wins Lawsuit Against BYD in China

This is a reminder to someone who "frequently" posted negative biased articles and comments about Tesla without evidence (without data and source of info) for the purpose to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD), the company reserves the right to sue you for defamation.