Connect with us

News

Tesla sues man for $650k in defamation lawsuit after he won $150k from automaker

(Credit: Jason Yang/YouTube)

Published

on

American electric car company Tesla has decided to sue a Chinese man for $650,000, claiming defamation following his victory against the automaker in a separate lawsuit, where he won $155,000.

Han Chao has posted images of legal documents that indicate Tesla is suing him for 5.05 million yuan, or around $650,000 for defamation. Tesla is also demanding a public apology, a strategy it has used in other defamation suits in China, where the company has been undergoing a very public attack on its products since the beginning of 2021.

The lawsuit’s basis seems to indicate that, following the closure of a previous case that saw Chao win more than 1 million yuan or around $155,00 from Tesla, Chao continued to defame the automaker on social media. Chao used terms such as “a quack,” calling Tesla a “rogue” and “rubbish” company following his victory.

“Han has been spreading his words through a series of online and offline actions…leading the public to have a negative impression of Tesla, causing damage to the company’s reputation,” Tesla said in a statement the South China Morning Post said.

Han issued a response on his personal Weibo account, stating:

Advertisement

“Do you mean to say, even though you need to pay me more than 1 million yuan in compensation, even though I am the victim, I cannot say a bad word about you and need to pay 5 million as a price?”

The follow-up suit from Tesla comes just ten days after the conclusion of the previous suit, where Chao was awarded a sizeable payout for purchasing a second-hand Tesla Model S in May 2019. Han said the vehicle had numerous issues, including banging noises while driving and having the car lose power during operation. Han decided to take the Model S to a third-party company where evidence of repairs that would be consistent with an accident was discovered. Han claimed sales fraud because Tesla claimed the accident was minor. Tesla stated that the vehicle was not structurally damaged and that it did not commit fraud during the sales process.

RELATED:

Tesla owner apologizes for staging “brake failure” incident in China

A court later ruled that Han was right. Pictures he gave to the court ultimately concluded that if the damages were shown to Han before buying the car, it would have impacted his decision to purchase the vehicle. Tesla told Han that “the car did not have structural damage,” so the court ultimately decided the company was wrong and committed fraud and was required to pay Han the sum of $155,000.

Advertisement

The SCMP wrote:

“The court ruled that the case constituted consumer fraud, and Tesla should return Han’s payment for the car plus compensate him with a fine of three times the purchasing amount.”

Han’s subsequent social media posts encouraged Tesla to file a new lawsuit.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with tips! Email us at tips@teslarati.com, or you can email me directly at joey@teslarati.com.

Advertisement

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

Advertisement
Comments

Elon Musk

Tesla’s next-gen Optimus prototype with Grok revealed

The video shows a new Optimus prototype answering questions and taking some very robotic steps, evidently revealing that the next-generation version is in its early stages of development.

Published

on

Tesla’s next-generation Optimus robot with AI assistant Grok has been revealed in a new video shared on X.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk was with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff last night, and it appears the frontman gave Benioff an exclusive look at some upcoming technology.

Tesla talks Semi ramp, Optimus, Robotaxi rollout, FSD with Wall Street firm

The video shows a new Optimus prototype answering questions and taking some very robotic steps, evidently revealing that the next-generation version is in its early stages of development. It features Grok for some additional utility, as it answered questions Benioff asked in the short video.

Here’s what was uploaded to X:

Advertisement

It appears that there are several big changes to this next-generation version of Optimus, some of which have been discussed by Musk and Tesla in the past.

The first is purely cosmetic, but the gold color that Optimus is wearing in this is a new and fresh look that we have not seen before.

Advertisement

Perhaps the most interesting change that is evident here is the hands, which are much more detailed than past versions of Optimus:

However, we’re not too sure that these are what will be released with the next-gen Optimus, because they don’t appear to be functional, and they are more reminiscent of mannequin hands than anything.

The hands on Optimus have been a significant part of the program, as they are among the most crucial pieces of equipment on a robot. It needs to be able to perform both delicate and more imposing tasks. Tesla has aimed for Optimus to be able to thread needles or play the piano.

It was one of the most discussed improvements the company mentioned in past comments regarding how it planned to improve from Gen 2 to this next version.

Musk mentioned regarding Optimus:

Advertisement

“Next-generation Optimus hand, which we have in prototype form, has actuators that have moved to the forearm, just like humans, and they operate the fingers through cables, just like human hands.”

Within Optimus lies a significant opportunity for Tesla to gain considerable strength in terms of market share and valuation.

If Tesla can efficiently develop and deploy the humanoid robot over the next several years, the company stands to gain, as companies will utilize it for tasks that require tedious labor.

Musk recently said Optimus will be a major contributor to Tesla’s valuation moving forward. He believes it will make up roughly 80 percent of the company’s value.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk to provide more details for Master Plan Part IV

Musk stated that he would be adding specifics to the plan in a later update.

Published

on

Credit: xAI/X

Tesla CEO Elon Musk will be adding more specifics to the recently-released Master Plan Part IV. Musk shared the update on social media platform X amidst conversations about the general nature of the Master Plan Part IV. 

In a conversation on X, Musk responded to a post from Tesla retail shareholder and bull Dave Lee, who observed that the currently released Master Plan Part IV could really just be the introduction to the real plan due to its absence of specifics.

Elon Musk responded, stating that he would be adding specifics to the plan in a later update. “Fair enough. Will add more specifics,” Musk wrote in his post.

Tesla has been following Elon Musk’s Master Plans for decades. The first Master Plan, released in 2006, outlined the company’s path from the original Tesla Roadster to the Model 3, as well as the first steps for Tesla Energy. Master Plan Part Deux, released in 2016, covered the ramp of Tesla Energy, the expansion of Tesla’s vehicle lineup, and the rollout of a Robotaxi service.

Master Plan Part 3 was more ambitious as it was generally an in-depth proposal for achieving a global sustainable entry economy by transitioning to electricity-powered vehicles, homes, and industry, which will, in turn, be powered by renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Master Plan Part 3 also included a five-step plan to accomplish this, allowing the world to transition to a fully electrified future. 

Advertisement

Master Plan Part IV, which was released a few days ago, focused on automation and artificial intelligence to achieve sustainable abundance. But while the first two Master Plans were very clear and specific and Master Plan Part 3 was very in-depth, Master Plan Part IV was quite general and vague in comparison. It was easy to tell that Optimus would play a big role in the pursuit of sustainable abundance, but apart from that, there were no specifics as to how Tesla intended to achieve its goals.

Fortunately, these specifics would be discussed by Musk in a later update to the plan.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla just had its best wholesale month this year in China

Tesla China’s wholesale figures include both vehicles that are sold domestically and exported abroad.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla China

Tesla China just had its best wholesale month this 2025 so far. In August, the electric vehicle maker sold 83,192 vehicles wholesale, a 22.55% increase compared to July 2025’s 67,886 units.

Tesla China’s wholesale figures are still down year-over-year, but the company’s momentum seems notable, especially with the arrival of the Model Y L.

August 2025 figures

As noted in a CNEV Post report, August 2025’s 83,192 wholesale figures are 4.04% less than the 86,697 units that were sold in the same period last year. It is, however, a 22.55% improvement from the previous month. From January to August, Tesla China sold 515,552 units wholesale, a 12.24% year-over-year decrease. 

It should be noted that Tesla China’s wholesale figures include both vehicles that are sold domestically and exported abroad. With this in mind, August’s results bode well for Tesla China, as it suggests that Gigafactory Shanghai is now hitting its pace with both its domestic deliveries and its exports. Giga Shanghai serves as Tesla’s primary vehicle export hub.

Model Y L factor

Tesla had a challenging first quarter this year, thanks in part to the changeover to the Model Y across the Fremont factory, Giga Texas, Giga Shanghai, and Giga Berlin-Brandenburg. This changeover resulted in low sales in the first quarter. Political controversies surrounding Elon Musk and violence against Tesla stores and vehicles in the first and second quarters in the United States and Europe did not help much either.

Advertisement

This Q3, however, Tesla seems to be hitting its stride, especially in China. The launch of the new Model Y L has allowed Tesla to compete in the six-seat, large SUV segment, a market that was previously closed to the standard Model Y. Reports have suggested that Tesla China has been seeing a lot of demand for the Model Y L, which should help the company achieve higher sales this quarter and the remaining months of the year.

Continue Reading

Trending