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There have been no discounts for buying Tesla's new energy vehicles recently, which has put Ms. Zhou, who is interested in buying a car, on the sidelines. Recently, the National Exhibition and Convention Center held the "China Auto Show", and its promotional posters stated that customers who purchased a car on the spot could participate in a lottery ranging from 1,000 yuan to 4,999 yuan. This made Ms. Zhou very excited, but after arriving at the scene excitedly, she was told that customers who bought a Tesla could not participate in the lottery, and there was no such rule in the promotional poster at all, which made many consumers question: "Isn't this false advertising?"

You can draw the lottery the day before you buy a car, but not on the day of purchase

Because of the need to buy a car, Ms. Zhou has been paying attention to new energy vehicles in recent times and tends to buy Tesla's new energy vehicles.

On August 7, the salesperson at the Tesla store told Ms. Zhou that there would be discounts on car purchases at the "China Auto Show" to be held at the Shanghai National Convention and Exhibition Center. If you order a car on site, you can draw a prize ranging from 1,000 yuan to 4,999 yuan. If Ms. Zhou is interested, the salesperson can provide an invitation ticket.

"There are no other discounts for buying Tesla now except interest-free, so I just said I would come and have a look."

Soon, Tesla sales staff sent Ms. Zhou a photo of the physical ticket. The activation code on the ticket can be used to bind the visitor's identity information.

It is reported that this year's "China Auto Show" will be held from August 8th to 11th. It is the first auto show in China without fuel vehicles, and more than 30 new energy vehicle companies will participate in the exhibition.

On the afternoon of August 9, Ms. Zhou went to the National Exhibition and Convention Center and came to their booth with Tesla sales staff. Driven by the lottery benefits, Ms. Zhou planned to order a car on the spot.

"I wanted to check if I could enter the lottery, but the people at the exhibition said that Tesla was not allowed to enter the lottery now."

Ms. Zhou learned from the exhibition staff that customers who purchased a Tesla after 2 p.m. that day could not participate in the lottery, and no reason was given.

The promotional poster of the "China Auto Show" stated that the lottery did not include the Xiaomi and Ledao brands, but it never mentioned that Tesla would not participate in the lottery.

“Isn’t this false advertising?” Ms. Zhou questioned. Tesla’s salesperson told her that customers who purchased Tesla on August 8 could still participate in the lottery normally, but they were not sure why they were not allowed to participate after one day.

At the exhibition, there were many customers like Ms. Zhou who were standing there in a daze. Tesla staff told everyone that they could complain to the 12345 citizen hotline about the organizer, and there was no other solution after that.

"I really want to buy it, but the organizer and Tesla are playing tricks on us?" Ms. Zhou said bluntly that she made a big trip to buy a car in such hot weather, but was suddenly told that the discount was cancelled. The experience was really bad.

No one responded to buy Tesla

Reasons for not being able to draw prizes

On the social platform, Zhoutao's reporter saw that an account called "Shanghai North Bund Tesla Center" with the introduction "Official Account of Tesla North Bund Raffles Experience Center" posted a message promoting that buyers of cars at the "China Auto Show" can enjoy an additional subsidy of 1,000 to 4,999 in cash. In addition, many netizens with the words "Tesla" in their names, who are suspected to be sales staff, posted the same promotional posts.

On the morning of August 10, a reporter bought a ticket to the "China Auto Show". At the entrance of the National Exhibition and Convention Center, there was a poster stating: "Dear audience, I am sorry to inform you that Tesla unilaterally withdrew from the exhibition on the second day of this CAS China Auto Show. Audiences who came to the exhibition because of Tesla can go to the North Hall Service Desk to register for a refund. Thank you for your support of the CAS China Auto Show!"

When arriving at the exhibition hall, the reporter saw that there were only a few tables and chairs left at Tesla's booth, and many visitors were resting there.

A similar statement was placed at the booth, and there were no Tesla-branded sales staff on site.

A couple who came to the exhibition told reporters that they came just for Tesla, but when they arrived at the scene they found out that Tesla could draw a lottery the day before yesterday, but not yesterday, and the exhibition was directly withdrawn today, making them feel that they had made a wasted trip.

"I heard that the organizer has limited the number of Teslas to be drawn, but it was not mentioned on the poster. Only consumers are kept in the dark."

Another customer, Mr. Li, who plans to buy a Tesla, said that in his opinion, both Tesla and the China Auto Show were suspected of false advertising, and many consumers were dissatisfied with this.

On that day, the reporter looked for the organizer's responsible personnel many times at the lottery center of the "China Auto Show" and the service desk in the north hall, but both service points only had part-time staff in charge of ticketing or registration.

After waiting for a while, a staff member with a sponsor certificate hanging on his chest came to the lottery center. The reporter identified himself and tried to understand why Tesla was excluded from the lottery.

Reporter: "Are you a staff member of the exhibition organizer?"

Staff: “You say.”

Reporter: "Why was Tesla excluded from the car purchase lottery list?"

Staff: “Subject to the on-site announcement.”

Reporter: "What's the reason?"

Staff: “I don’t know”

The reporter found out through public information that the main company of "China Auto Show" is Shanghai Huahao Exhibition Co., Ltd., which was established in March 2019. This "China Auto Show" is the second new energy vehicle exhibition held by the company. On the same day, the reporter asked the customer service on the official WeChat account of "China Auto Show" why the lucky draw cannot be held after buying a Tesla. The same reply was "subject to the on-site announcement". No one answered the official phone call.

At the same time, the reporter tried to contact the Tesla store staff, who said that there would be dedicated personnel to contact the media. As of press time, the reporter has not received any relevant response from Tesla.

The organizer of the auto show is suspected of false advertising

For consumers, the guaranteed lucky draw benefits have gone down the drain, and many consumers even came here specifically for this purpose. So, are the exhibition organizers and the Tesla brand suspected of false advertising? In this regard, Zhoutao’s reporter interviewed Fugui, a lawyer from East & Concord (Shanghai) Law Firm, to interpret the situation.

Lawyer Fugui believes that regarding the lottery for car purchases, it is the auto show organizer that gives consumers the right to draw the lottery, and it is also the organizer that redeems the lottery. Therefore, when the organizer has put up a large amount of promotional materials to promote the lottery for car purchases, these materials can be regarded as an offer in the contract. If the lottery cannot be redeemed, the organizer may be suspected of breach of contract, that is, false advertising.

"Just like the brochures you get when buying a house, they are part of the contract." Lawyer Fugui said that the consumer's act of purchasing through promotional materials can be regarded as the two parties reaching a contract offer.

In addition, regarding Tesla sales staff posting promotional content about car purchase lucky draws on social platforms, Fugui Lawyer believes that this behavior does not constitute false advertising because the lucky draw is not carried out by Tesla.

"However, Tesla sales staff should fulfill their obligation to inform consumers that they can no longer participate in the lucky draw to avoid misleading consumers."

Lawyer Fugui reminded that if consumers encounter such situations, they can report complaints to the market supervision and management department.

Source | Morning News APP