A family in China was shocked when they were ordered to pay Tesla $23,000 after a crash they blamed on brake malfunction. Despite their attempts to hold the company responsible, the court sided with Tesla.
A family involved in a major crash alleges that their Tesla’s brakes malfunctioned, but rather than receiving compensation, they were instructed to pay the automaker over $23,000 in damages.
Zhang Yazhou, from China, was seated in the passenger side of a Tesla Model 3 as her father drove. On a typical February day in 2021, as they neared a red light, her father took the expected action—he pressed the brake pedal.
However, according to Zhang, panic quickly followed. Instead of decelerating, the car continued moving forward. She asserted that the brakes were malfunctioning and unresponsive.
She remembered the horrifying moment when her father shouted, “The brakes don’t work!” as he attempted to maneuver around the vehicles in front. But there was no escape. The Tesla first grazed an SUV, then struck a sedan, and eventually slammed into a concrete barrier.
The crash was intense. Medical records shared by ABC News indicated that Zhang’s parents were hospitalized for four days, with her father sustaining a concussion.
Zhang and her infant niece, who had been in the car, were fortunate to escape without injuries. However, their ordeal was far from over.
Zhang’s family was driving a Tesla Model 3 at the time of the crashSjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images
Zhang Takes Legal Action Against Tesla
After the traffic police examined the incident, they attributed fault to Zhang’s father, claiming he hadn’t kept a safe distance from the other vehicles. However, Zhang rejected this explanation, maintaining that the brakes had malfunctioned.
Determined to take action, Zhang lodged a complaint with a local market regulator, demanding both a refund and compensation. She also requested the pre-crash data from Tesla, but the company refused to comply.
Frustrated and upset, Zhang decided to take matters into her own hands. She displayed a banner on her car that read “Tesla brake failure” and parked it outside a Tesla dealership in Zhengzhou, Henan province. With a bullhorn, she began telling her family’s story to anyone willing to listen. Despite her efforts, Tesla continued to refuse to release the data.
Determined to make her voice heard, Zhang organized a public protest at an auto show. Sporting a t-shirt that read “brakes fail,” she climbed onto a Tesla display vehicle, ensuring she had everyone’s attention.
Her protest resulted in her arrest, but the event quickly gained widespread attention. As the public’s curiosity soared, Tesla reacted by claiming she was trying to attract publicity and demand more money. In response, an enraged Zhang filed a defamation lawsuit against the company.
Zhang initially sued Tesla for defamationDavid Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Image
Tesla Responds Strongly
Tesla wasn’t passive in the face of Zhang’s lawsuit. The company swiftly took legal action of its own, alleging that she had intentionally spread false information that harmed the company’s reputation. They sought 5 million yuan ($684,000) in damages.
Under mounting legal pressure and increasing public attention, Tesla eventually shared the car’s data. However, Zhang argues that they made this disclosure publicly, exposing her vehicle’s identification number in the process.
The records revealed that her father had been traveling at almost 120 km per hour (75 mph) before the accident and that the brakes were applied, though insufficiently to stop the crash. After the data was made public, Zhang claimed her family faced online threats.
With her privacy exposed, Zhang filed another lawsuit against Tesla, accusing them of invading her privacy. However, she lost both cases.
At the same time, Tesla launched its own legal battle. By May of the following year, a Shanghai court determined that Zhang’s remarks about Tesla’s braking system did not constitute reasonable criticism.
Unable to prove that the brakes had malfunctioned, she was deemed responsible. The court mandated that she issue a public apology and pay 170,000 RMB ($23,000) to compensate Tesla for damages and legal expenses.
The crash happened near a red lightGetty Stock Photo
Zhang’s Appeal
Despite the court’s verdict, Zhang remains defiant. She has since filed an appeal, telling the Associated Press, “I refuse to accept it. As a consumer, even if I misspoke, I have the right to express my opinions and criticism. I simply shared my experience as a car owner—it was never about harming their reputation.
