On September 26, Mr. Han, an owner of Tesla, revealed that he had received partial payment from Tesla for winning the case of “refunding a car and paying three times the money”. Recently, Tesla took him to court for violating its reputation, and demanded a public apology, claiming a total of 5.05 million yuan.
Tesla argues that Mr. Han has been making long-term statements related to denigrating and disparaging Tesla through his personal account on Sina Weibo since early 2020, and his actions have seriously infringed on Tesla’s corporate reputation rights.
To Tesla’s claim of 5.05 million yuan, Mr. Han said bluntly, “Do you mean, although you defrauded me, although you should pay me more than one million, although I’m the victim, I can not say that you are bad, as long as I say you are bad, I have to pay five or six million!”
Review: Tesla was sentenced to compensation for defrauding consumers
On September 17, Tesla owner Mr. Han @ID_Hanchao said that the results of the second trial of the lawsuit between himself and Tesla have been released, and the court announced that the original verdict of the first trial was upheld. Tesla constitutes fraud and shall refund to Han (Mr. Han) the purchase price of 379,700 yuan and compensate 1139,100 yuan in accordance with the Consumer Rights Protection Law.
It is reported that on June 1, 2019, Mr. Han signed a Used Car Order Agreement with Tesla through the official website of Tesla China to purchase a used Model S car. Before the purchase, Tesla promised that its sales of used cars in the replacement vehicle before the completion of the transfer after more than two hundred processes of vehicle testing, in line with Tesla standards of the vehicle to provide second-hand certification before the official website sales.
However, the vehicle has already undergone multiple repairs after only two months of use. on August 24, 2019, Mr. Han was driving the Tesla when the vehicle suddenly became paralyzed and the electric doors and brakes all failed, nearly causing a major traffic accident.
On November 15, 2019, the vehicle involved in the case was identified by Wanfeng Motor Vehicle Appraisal and Evaluation Co., Ltd. as having structural damage and being an accident vehicle. The owner, Mr. Han, believed that Tesla fraudulently sold the accident vehicle that did not meet its promise, so he filed a lawsuit to the court.
The court ruled in the first instance that Tesla’s conduct constituted fraud.
Lawyer Zhao Zhanling said: “In the automotive field, the seller is fraudulent, but it is indeed rare to assume the responsibility of one refund and three times compensation.” So far, this case has become the first domestic consumer rights protection case that sentenced Tesla to “refunding a car and paying three times the money”.
Lawyer: The owner of the Tesla car may constitute a reputation right infringement
You Yunting, a senior partner of Shanghai Dabang Law Firm, told reporters: “The “refund of one compensation for three” case between Han Chao and Tesla has been brought into effect by the court’s second-instance judgment, and the judge found that Tesla constituted a fraud. Han Chao’s use of some critical language to make a negative evaluation of Tesla is a normal business evaluation, and Tesla should tolerate it.”
“But in Han Chao’s Weibo, there are some words that have been suspected of constituting insulting language, such as ‘hooligans’, ‘junk’, etc., which are indeed beyond the scope of the normal commercial evaluation. I think that for such insulting language, Han Chao may still constitute an infringement of the right of reputation. But at the same time, we believe that given the identity of the consumer who was victimized in the compensation case, and Tesla’s difficulty in proving specific losses, even if it constitutes an infringement, it will not bear the high compensation, the main responsibility is to stop using such insulting language.” You Yunting said.
On the dispute between Han Chao and Tesla regarding the car, You Yunting said that there is less information available in the public media, and it is roughly presumed that it should be during the period when the used car purchased by Han Chao could not be used, Tesla provided it with a car, and Han Chao or his relatives caused damage to the car during driving it. If this is the case, Tesla, as the owner of the car, is entitled to claim liability for damages from Han Chao.
Several Tesla owners were sued for reputation infringement
Not only Mr. Han, but many Tesla owners have also been sued by Tesla for infringement of reputation and demanding high compensation. It is reported that after the car owner was awarded 5.05 million by Tesla after winning the claim, the female Tesla car owner who was on the roof of the car at the Shanghai Auto Show also issued a document saying that there are currently two disputes with Tesla that are being handled. Tesla demanded an apology and compensation of 5 million yuan for loss of reputation. Source