By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares fell more than 2% Wednesday on worries that the electric vehicle maker would come under increased scrutiny in China, its biggest market.
The company had to issue an apology following an incident Monday that showed a woman climbing atop a vehicle at the Shanghai Auto Show to protest against what she claimed were malfunctioning brakes in a Tesla she owns.
The video was live-streamed and it went viral on local social media platforms.
Tesla apologized to Chinese consumers for not addressing a customer's complaints in a timely way, and said it would begin a review of its service, according to Reuters.
A report in the state-owned Xinhua news agency cited rising concerns over the quality of cars made by Tesla. That prompted officials in the country’s Communist Party to call upon the company to respect Chinese consumers and comply with local laws and regulations.
The company must work on winning consumers’ trust, the article said.
A little over a month back, China banned Tesla vehicles from entering its military complexes on security concerns about the cameras they carry. CEO Elon Musk subsequently said the company would never share its data with anyone.
New competition for the company is also growing in the Chinese market with local rival Geely (OTC:GELYY) already working out electric vehicles under a new marquee with different branding and sales strategies.