Tesla has urged the Chinese government to censor criticism in China

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of the lucky department

Apart unshakable fanboys of the company, it is fairly clear to most people that the honeymoon phase of the relationship of the planet with Tesla coming to an end. Whether the regulatory review of premature and often inaccurate allegations of the company’s independent conduct, significant credit loss programs in the United States and Europe, the frustration at often stupid shit that comes out of the mouth of Elon musks, legal problems related to the acquisition of SolarCity, or important quality headaches associated with solar installations and company cars, the flowering, as they say, fell from the rose.

This also extends to China, where Tesla’s early successes seem to have hit a roadblock. Part of that roadblock recently emerged in the form of a massive recall of almost every Tesla sold in China due to software glitches. In response to the bipartisan aggressiveness of the United States (see: TikTok), the Chinese government also banned all Teslas be used by government agencies, citing potential problems natsec confidentiality. After initially rolled out the red carpet, Chinese authorities have dramatically changed his tone during most of last year.

As Bloomberg notes, real security concerns Tesla, the anger of the government to the pride of Tesla and a soured relationship between the United States and China seem to have merged into a big headache for the company :

“The Tesla experience is a warning shot they have to stay between the lines, and not be as flamboyant in their success, said Bill Russo, a former Chrysler executive who is now CEO of Automobility Ltd., a consultancy based in Shanghai. you can not be so advanced you become arrogant in how you behave …

signals a tougher stance towards Tesla appeared in February when the agencies, including the State Administration for market regulation, the most important Chinese market watchdog, convened leaders to discuss what they said they were problems of quality and safety in Tesla vehicles, including abnormal acceleration reports. and battery fire. After the meeting, Tesla issued a statement so sorry she almost crawling, stating that it had genuinely accepted the advice of government departments and had thought deeply about the shortcomings. ”

To counter the change, Tesla has engaged in a massive new public relations campaign on social platforms, and some new crawling at the feet of the Chinese authorities. But Bloomberg burying a troubling part of this creeping in a disposable sentence halfway history. Namely the fact that Tesla went so far as to ask the Chinese government to use its vast censorship machine to censor critics of online businesses:

Previously focused on the public media, Tesla is now trying to build relationships with publications and influencers in the automotive industry on platforms such as Weibo and WeChat, such as inviting them to factory visits and organizing sessions group discussion with policy makers, consumers and the media. According to people familiar with the matter, he also complained to the government about what he sees as unwarranted attacks on social media, and called on Beijing to use its censorship powers to block some of the posts. ”

Ask the government to censor online reviews of your products probably will not have much to bring public opinion in favor of Tesla. Again, Tesla is now facing what is probably a combination of legitimate anger at the pride documented the company to exaggerated promises and potential security problems, merged with the overarching policy objective of the China to empower its own electric car manufacturers (Nio, Xpeng) and counter the growth of the United States. animosity. Together, they have led to a 50% of new orders in China on Tesla last few weeks.

I feel that the next year, Tesla (and its steadfast faithful) will focus entirely on it (the government unfairly target us because we’re American!) And less on the obvious need, both overseas and here in the United States for a dramatic solution to the company’s product quality problems, ridiculous hype, and less flattering executive flaws.

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Filed Under: censorship, china, critics, ccording musk, large front feuEntreprises: tesla

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