Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes don’t work! Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into an SUV and a sedan and crashing into a large concrete barrier.

Tesla sued a woman for defamation after she attempted to raise awareness about her vehicle's brakes malfunctioning, causing a crash that sent both her parents to the hospital in 2021.