Customers in China claim that faulty brakes have caused a number of accidents. On April 19, 2021, a woman climbed on top of a car at a trade show to protest the safety issues with the car. Her father crashed earlier in February because of the Model 3 faulty brakes. The woman's claims were dismissed by the company, which stated on Chinese social media platform Weibo that it would not compromise with unreasonable demands.

The subject of the most recent lawsuit came to Zhang's defense. He told the Global Times that he had expressed his anger and discontent over the company's arrogance and lack of proper communication.

This isn't the first time that the car manufacturer has been criticized. Musk accused an Associated Press reporter of being a "lobbyist" following an article on the recall of its cars. Musk dissolved the public relations department, which was responsible for communicating with the press and issuing statements on behalf of the company. The company did not respond to the request for comment. Musk has 92 million followers on his account.

China makes up more than 20% of the total revenue of the company. The recent outbreak of Covid-19 in China may affect the company's earnings in the second quarter.