A family in China was left stunned after being ordered to pay Tesla $23,000 following a crash they claim was caused by brake failure. Despite their efforts to hold the company accountable, the court ruled against them.
Zhang Yazhou, from China, was sitting in the passenger seat of a Tesla Model 3 while her father drove. It was a normal February day in 2021, and as they approached a red light, her father did what any responsible driver would do—he pressed the brake pedal.
But, according to Zhang, that’s when panic set in. Instead of slowing down, the car kept moving. The brakes, she claimed, weren’t working.
The impact was severe. Medical records cited by ABC News revealed that Zhang’s mother and father were hospitalized for four days. Her father suffered a concussion.
Zhang and her baby niece, who had been in the car at the time, were incredibly lucky—they walked away unhurt. But the nightmare was far from over.
Zhang Takes Action Against Tesla
When traffic police reviewed the accident, they placed the blame on Zhang’s father, stating he had not maintained a safe distance from other cars. But Zhang refused to accept that explanation. She insisted the brakes had failed.
Determined to fight back, she filed a complaint with a local market regulator, seeking both a refund and compensation. She also demanded that Tesla provide the vehicle’s pre-crash data. Tesla refused.
Frustrated and angry, Zhang took matters into her own hands. She put up a banner on her car that read ‘Tesla brake failure’ and parked it outside a Tesla dealership in Zhengzhou, Henan province. Using a bullhorn, she shared her family’s story with anyone who would listen. Even then, Tesla still refused to release the data.
Her demonstration led to her being detained, but the incident quickly went viral. As public interest grew, Tesla responded—by accusing her of seeking attention and higher compensation. Furious, Zhang hit back by filing a defamation lawsuit against the company.
Tesla Fights Back
Tesla did not take Zhang’s lawsuit lightly. Instead, the company countered with legal action of its own, accusing her of deliberately spreading false information that damaged Tesla’s reputation. They sought 5 million yuan ($684,000) in damages.
Amid the legal pressure and growing scrutiny, Tesla finally released the car’s data. However, Zhang claims they did so publicly—revealing her vehicle’s identification number in the process.
The data showed that her father had been driving nearly 120 km per hour (75 mph) before the crash and that the brakes had engaged, though not enough to prevent the collision. Following the data release, Zhang said her family became the target of online threats.
Meanwhile, Tesla pursued its own lawsuit. In May of the following year, a Shanghai court ruled that Zhang’s comments about Tesla’s brakes did not qualify as reasonable criticism.
Since she couldn’t prove the brakes had failed, she was held liable. The court ordered her to publicly apologize and pay 170,000 RMB ($23,000) to cover Tesla’s damages and legal fees.
Zhang’s Appeal
Despite the court ruling, Zhang is refusing to back down. She has since appealed the decision, telling the Associated Press: “I refuse to accept it. As a consumer, even if I said something wrong, I have the right to comment and criticize. I spoke about my feelings as a user of the car. It has nothing to do with damaging their reputation.”
However, history is not on her side. Court records show that in China, Tesla has been taken to court at least 81 times by car owners. Of those cases, the automaker won 72, with only nine rulings in favor of the plaintiffs.
