---
title: "Tesla Owner Admits That Brake Failure Claims Were Made Up"
description: "A crackdown by Tesla's legal team in China has led to a wave of new public apologies by Chinese Tesla owners, who admitted they staged \"brake failures.\""
date: "2021-06-02"
modified: "2021-06-02"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-owner-admits-that-brake-failure-claims-were-made-up"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Tesla"
tags:
  - "china"
  - "electric cars"
  - "elon musk"
  - "tesla"
  - "the digest"
---

# Tesla Owner Admits That Brake Failure Claims Were Made Up

![A crackdown by Tesla's legal team in China has led to a wave of new public apologies by Chinese Tesla owners, who admitted they staged "brake failures."](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/tesla-owner-admits-that-brake-failure-claims-were-made-up.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/7423566928" target="\_blank"\>Steve Jurvetson via Flickr / Futurism  \</a\>\</em\>*

## Hype Cycle

A crackdown by Tesla's legal team in China has led to a wave of public apologies by Chinese Tesla owners who previously alleged their vehicles experienced "brake failures," [*Teslarati* reports](<https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-fake-brake-failure-apology-china>).

Tesla has struggled recently to keep up its reputation in China, facing mounting criticism over its vehicles' reliability and safety.

But if the recent apologies are anything to go by, worries over the vehicles' brakes may be totally unwarranted.

## Doth Protest

Concerns over brake failures really kicked off in April, when a woman who claimed to be a Tesla owner [publicly protested](<https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/23/tesla-in-china-pressure-mounts-on-carmaker-after-customer-protest.html>) an alleged brake failure on her car at the Shanghai auto show, prompting safety concerns over the car's offerings in China.

The woman stood on top of a Tesla at the car show with a T-shirt that read "brakes don't work," as [*CNBC* reported at the time](<https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/23/tesla-in-china-pressure-mounts-on-carmaker-after-customer-protest.html>).

The stunt, which was later picked up by state media, kicked off a wave of other owners coming forward, claiming their vehicles were also experiencing brake failures.

And earlier this month, state-owned news agency [*Global Times* reported](<https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202105/1222977.shtml>) that a Tesla crashed in South China while traveling at 98 mph, sparking "fresh worry over brake issues."

## Apologies

Several months later, a Tesla owner issued a public apology, revealing that he staged a "brake failure" incident on TikTok, as *Teslarati* reported on Tuesday. According to the owner, there never was anything wrong with his Model X.

Tesla established a "Special Handling Team" following the Shanghai auto show incident to crack down on misinformation being spread on Chinese social media, [*Teslarati* reported](<https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-fake-brake-failure-apology-china>) at the time.

The approach seems to be paying off, but it's unclear if Tesla will be able to recover its tarnished reputation in one of the biggest EV markets in the world — Tesla sales stumbled 27 percent in April over March in the country, as [*CNBC* reported earlier this month](<https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/12/teslas-china-sales-tumble-in-april-from-march.html>).

**READ MORE:** [Tesla owner apologizes for staging “brake failure” incident in China](<https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-fake-brake-failure-apology-china>) \[*Teslarati*\]

**More on Tesla:** *[SEC Report: Tesla Failed to Control Elon Musk’s Tweets](<https://futurism.com/sec-tesla-failed-control-elon-musk-tweets>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)