Tesla prepares for China expansion after dealing with name dispute

The company has settled trademark issues that prevented it from using the "Tesla Motors" name in the mainland

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A Tesla car is unveiled in a Detroit showroom. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:30pm, 29 Jan 2014Updated: 12:03pm, 24 Nov 2015

American electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors has ambitious plans for China, after successfully handling a trademark dispute that allows the company to advertise its vehicles in the region under the Tesla name.

Veronica Wu, vice president of Tesla’s China branch, told Reuters on January 25 that the company settled trademark issues over the "Tesla Motors" name, which had originally been registered in 2006 by a Guangdong man named Zhan Baosheng.

Zhan claimed that he needed the name for his research on electric car manufacturing, despite not using the trademark since 2009.

Media reports originally indicated that Tesla had gone to court with Zhan over the name, but a revised Reuters report revealed that the company had only released information stating that "the dispute had been resolved, [with] no further details [provided]."

According to Chinese-language analysis, the matter was likely settled outside of court, although there is currently no information on what amount Tesla may have paid Zhan. Previously, Zhan only offered to sell the name’s rights to Tesla for HK$248 million.

Tesla recently announced that its Model S electric car would retail for 734 thousand yuan (HK$941 thousand) in the mainland after deducting shipping and import costs.

Tesla prepares for China expansion after dealing with name dispute

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The company has settled trademark issues that prevented it from using the "Tesla Motors" name in the mainland

The company has settled trademark issues that prevented it from using the "Tesla Motors" name in the mainland