Tesla to boost public relations, legal teams in China
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SHANGHAI • Tesla is looking to expand its public relations and legal teams in China after a run of bad publicity and tighter regulatory scrutiny.
The electric-vehicle pioneer is seeking to fill external affairs positions - whose responsibilities include government relations - in cities including Beijing and Shanghai, according to a post on its WeChat site. It is also hiring more public relations managers.
After a red carpet welcome in China, and being the only foreign carmaker allowed to wholly own its local operation, Tesla has endured a series of setbacks this year. A protest by a disgruntled owner at the Shanghai car show in April went viral and was followed by a spate of crashes and regulatory scrutiny of safety and customer service issues.
Data released last week showed Tesla's shipments of China-made cars to the local market fell 69 per cent last month from June to 8,621 vehicles. China is Tesla's second-biggest market outside the United States, and key to its growth plans.
The expanding government and media relations presence in China contrasts with Tesla's approach in the US, where chief executive Elon Musk's tweeting is the main avenue for communications, with the local public relations team largely disbanded.
Tesla is also boosting its legal team in China - advertising for a data privacy protection lawyer, an antitrust lawyer, engineering lawyer and after-sales lawyer.
Earlier this year, five regulators summoned Tesla representatives over quality and safety issues. Its cars have also been banned from some military complexes over concern that their cameras may be collecting sensitive information.
The government last week said intelligent-vehicle makers will be required to store locally generated data within the country, the latest step in a broader regulatory crackdown on business.
BLOOMBERG
