"One-Pedal Mode" May Be Banned

Three years later, the dispute over the rooftop rights protection incident at the Tesla Shanghai Auto Show has once again seen new developments.

On May 30, the Shanghai Qingpu District People's Court ruled that Ms. Zhang from Henan, who stood on the roof of a Tesla car at the Shanghai Auto Show, was found to have infringed on Tesla's reputation rights. She was ordered to apologize to Tesla and pay compensation of 170,000 yuan. Meanwhile, Feng, a long-time automotive media person who had published content slandering Tesla online before and after the Shanghai Auto Show, also faces a ruling to apologize to Tesla and pay compensation of 250,000 yuan.

At this point, the three-year-long Tesla rooftop rights protection incident may have come to an end. After this incident, there were several accidents where car owners claimed "brake failure," but the final appraisal results from professional appraisal agencies all showed that the causes of the accidents had nothing to do with Tesla vehicles themselves.

At the same time, the controversial one-pedal driving mode (i.e., Tesla's "Hold" mode) may be banned. Recently, the Department of Equipment Industry of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a public notice seeking opinions on five mandatory national standards, including "Technical Requirements and Test Methods for Passenger Car Braking Systems," which involve changes in the application conditions of energy recovery braking functions for new energy vehicles.

Image Source: Tesla

Tesla told China News Weekly, "This is currently only the draft stage of the solicitation of opinions." Regarding whether the "Hold mode" will be banned, Tesla's customer service said, "We have not received any relevant information, and it does not affect existing products and functions."

Apologize and Compensate 170,000 yuan

The Tesla Shanghai Auto Show rooftop rights protection incident has been over for three years.

At the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show, Ms. Zhang wore a T-shirt with Tesla's logo and the words "brake failure" and intruded into Tesla's booth on the media day, climbed onto the roof of a Tesla exhibition car, and shouted, "Tesla's brakes don't work."

Image Source: Tesla

Since then, there have been multiple lawsuits between Tesla and Ms. Zhang. In 2023, Ms. Zhang's lawsuit against Tesla for infringing on her reputation and privacy rights was rejected by the court. Three years after the Shanghai Auto Show incident, Ms. Zhang was finally ruled by the court to have infringed on Tesla's reputation rights and was ordered to publicly apologize to Tesla and pay compensation of 170,000 yuan.

Ms. Zhang expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling.

Image Source: Tesla

Meanwhile, Feng, a senior automotive expert, sued Tesla for infringement of reputation rights, and the court rejected all his claims; while in Tesla's lawsuit against Feng for infringement of reputation rights, the court ruled that Feng must publicly issue an apology and pay Tesla 250,000 yuan in compensation. The judgment document showed that the Shanghai Qingpu Court found that Feng did indeed engage in illegal acts that disrupted public order during the "Shanghai Auto Show incident" on April 19, 2021, playing a role in organizing and planning.

Feng also expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling. On social media, he said that he merely gave Ms. Zhang a media day pass and claimed, "Providing some unnecessary assistance to normal rights protection ≠ organizing and planning to get on the roof." Feng said, "I firmly do not recognize the first-instance judgment and have filed an appeal in court."

According to an assessment report issued by a judicial assessment agency, the "Shanghai Auto Show incident" caused Tesla to suffer direct losses of over 170 million yuan in orders and tens of millions of yuan in goodwill losses. In addition, Tesla incurred hundreds of thousands of yuan in rights protection costs (asset evaluation fees, expert opinion fees, legal fees, etc.) during the litigation process in this case.

Previously, many automakers encountered rights protection issues and often resolved them through settlements. However, Tesla chose a completely different approach. Since then, more and more automakers have begun to use legal means to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests such as reputation rights. In recent years, automakers including BYD and NIO have established legal departments and publicly voiced their opinions online. Several self-media outlets that publish negative information and maliciously slander automakers on the internet have subsequently been sanctioned by the law.

On March 15, 2024, the Central Cyber Information Office announced the deployment of the 2024 "Clear" series of special actions to rectify the chaos of enterprise-related infringement information. The focus is on rectifying the dissemination of false and unsubstantiated information related to enterprises, deliberately fabricating rumors to smear enterprises and entrepreneurs, and extortion of enterprises in the name of "media supervision."

"One-Pedal" Mode May Be Banned

However, it is worth noting that while the Tesla rooftop rights protection incident has been resolved, the "one-pedal" driving mode may be banned.

Since the Tesla rooftop rights protection incident, issues such as whether Tesla has brake failure and whether the one-pedal driving mode is reasonable have sparked heated discussions in public opinion.

Previously, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology responded that brake energy recovery and the one-pedal driving mode are both new technologies in new energy vehicles. These technologies are not unique to Tesla. Users should familiarize themselves with the technical characteristics of new energy vehicles when purchasing and using related new energy products to ensure driving safety.

However, after experiencing controversy in public opinion, such "new technologies" may be banned.

The recently published "Technical Requirements and Test Methods for Passenger Car Braking Systems" (draft for solicitation of opinions) adds the following clause to the additional requirements for vehicles equipped with electric regenerative braking systems: For vehicles of type A and vehicles with both type A and type B electric regenerative braking systems, the braking effect achieved by releasing the accelerator pedal in forward gear cannot decelerate the vehicle to a stop.

Image Source: Website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China

The draft for solicitation of opinions shows that in recent years, with the gradual widespread application of type A electric regenerative braking system technology, drivers may develop corresponding driving habits by controlling the accelerator pedal for a long time to achieve braking and stopping, which may lead to misuse such as accidental stepping in emergency braking conditions. To clarify the positioning of type A electric regeneration as an auxiliary braking, this requirement is proposed based on sufficient industry research and discussion, aiming to guide drivers to develop good driving habits and ensure driving safety. Considering the current status of industry technology and products, this clause provides a separate transition period.

The so-called "one-pedal" mode does not mean that the vehicle has only one pedal, but rather that when driving a new energy vehicle with this function enabled, pressing the vehicle's accelerator pedal will accelerate, and releasing the accelerator pedal will decelerate. At this time, the original brake pedal can still be used normally without any impact.

The advantage of this driving mode is that it can achieve maximum energy recovery of the motor, reduce the vehicle's power consumption, and thereby increase the driving range. At the same time, by reducing the use of the brake pedal, it also reduces the driver's fatigue during driving, especially when driving on urban roads that require frequent acceleration and deceleration.

In fact, although Tesla is strongly associated with the "one-pedal" mode on the internet, Tesla does not have a "one-pedal" mode among its driving modes. Tesla currently has three stopping modes: creep, hold, and roll, and car owners can freely choose according to their personal preferences. Among them, the "hold" mode is also referred to as the "one-pedal" mode by netizens.

Tesla's creep and hold modes are two driving modes that consumers choose more often.

Specifically, the driving experience of the "creep" mode is similar to that of traditional vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions. When "creep" is selected (or in a completely stopped state), the motor will continue to apply torque to drive the vehicle forward (in forward gear) or backward (in reverse gear) slowly. The "hold" mode, also known as the "one-pedal" mode discussed more by netizens, continues to provide energy recovery braking when the speed is lower than the speed corresponding to the "creep" and "roll" settings, thereby maximizing the mileage and reducing brake wear. When the vehicle stops, it will automatically apply braking even if the driver does not place their foot on the brake pedal.

At the market level, consumers have mixed opinions about the "one-pedal" mode. Many consumers believe that the new technology brings a more convenient driving experience after trying it. However, for some consumers who find it difficult to change their traditional driving habits or have not experienced it, long-term use of the "one-pedal" mode may change their driving habits, and there may be cases where drivers accidentally step on the accelerator pedal in some emergency braking situations.

Currently, models that support the "one-pedal" mode on the market include not only Tesla but also models from GAC Trumpchi, Xiaomi, and ZEEKR, among others. Although the "one-pedal" mode is not unique to Tesla, Tesla has designed it extensively to make it one of its best features and is recognized by the market.

It is reported that the deadline for soliciting opinions is July 27, 2024. If the draft is approved, new energy vehicles launched domestically thereafter will not be allowed to be set to a mode where kinetic energy recovery results in complete braking. Models with this function may respond to the latest national policies through remote OTA upgrades.