Tesla blamed State Grid of China for a vehicle charging malfunction, a common practice that brings the US electric car company back into the spotlight by first skimming off the blame in the face of problems.
On January 26, a man surnamed Tu, who lives in Nanchang, finished charging his car with a Tesla Supercharger, and when he unplugged it to leave, the vehicle shuddered violently and fault codes were displayed on the main screen.
Mr. Tu immediately contacted the Tesla service center, and after following the instructions of the staff, the new car, which had been purchased six days before, still wouldn't start.
State Grid's current was too high, causing the car to be instantly charged with too much current, and the inverter was burned out, the after-sales staff said after the next day's inspection, adding that only the damaged parts could be replaced for free, while the car could not be returned or exchanged.
On January 31, State Grid Nanchang Power Supply issued a statement denying that the fault was caused by the company's problems.
The statement said that Tesla's own charging stations have their own specific charging technology standards, and that Tesla cars are connected directly to its dedicated charging unit, not to power lines.
The voltage of the power line was stable in use without abnormality, and other power-using devices in the vicinity were working normally, in line with the national regulations on power quality, State Grid Nanchang said, adding that Tesla is advised to ask professionals to find the cause of the vehicle's fault.
Tesla customer support said on February 1 that it apologized for the misunderstanding and the distress caused to State Grid Nanchang. The fault was caused by a momentary current overload while charging.
The exact cause of the current overload was still being examined, and the after-sales staff was pressed for the cause when communicating with customers, so multiple possible factors were mentioned, Tesla said.
Tesla Model S and Model X have had more than fifty combustion and explosion accidents since they were launched in China, according to Economic Information Daily. Tesla often responded that the cause of the accidents was improper use by owners.
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