Chinese ride-hailing company buys billboards in Times Square to demand refunds from Tesla

A Chinese ride-hailing company has purchased billboard space in Times Square to demand refunds for its fleet of nearly 300 Tesla vehicles, according to Business Insider.

Shenma Zhuanche, citing the Academy Award-winning 2017 film “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” bought three billboards to demand refunds for the 278 cars, saying 20 percent of the Teslas it purchased have encountered mechanical issues, according to the publication.

{mosads}”Shenma special vehicle and Tesla have made repeated negotiations but Tesla’s internal efficiency is low, resulting in unsatisfactory after-sales service, long processing time for complaints, and delays in solving vehicle problems,” the company said on its website. Shenma said it waited an average of 45 days for service, costing the company the equivalent of about $965,000, according to Business Insider.

The company also organized a demonstration at a Tesla retail location in Chengdu, according to the publication.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

This marks the latest financial and legal woe for the company, which announced last week that it was investigating a recorded incident showing what appears to be a parked Tesla Model S sedan bursting into flames in Shanghai.

“We immediately sent a team onsite, and we’re supporting local authorities to establish the facts. From what we know now, no one was harmed,” a Tesla spokesperson told The Hill last week.

In a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said that while it projects its current cash flow will cover expenses for at least the next year, it may choose to “seek alternative financing sources.”