(Yicai Global) Aug. 19 -- Tesla doesn’t have a blacklist, the US electric car giant said today in response to claims by a customer in Wuhan at the center of a huge commotion between Tesla and e-retailer Pinduoduo that he had to place his order using the identity of a family member since he had been blacklisted by Tesla China.

The customer has now been blacklisted by Tesla and will be unable to buy any Tesla cars in future, The Paper reported today, citing the customer.

Tesla strongly opposes self-motivated acts of fabricating news and maliciously misleading public opinion, the carmaker said last month. The firm urges all parties to abide by basic business ethics and stop manipulating and consuming public sentiment for their own interests, it added.

The brouhaha can be traced back to a substantial discount on the Model 3 for group buyers offered by autoseller Yiauto through the Pinduoduo platform from July 21. Xiamen-based Yiauto was offering 10,000 buyers the upgraded 2019 version of Tesla China’s rear-wheel drive Model 3 with standard mileage at a price of CNY251,800 (USD36,232), undercutting Tesla by almost CNY20,000.

However, Tesla said at the time that it had nothing to do with the promotion and had not signed any agreements with Pinduoduo or Yiauto.

The consumer in Wuhan who bought his vehicle through the Yiauto site was refused delivery of his vehicle, he said on Aug. 14. Tesla stood by the decision of its contractor not to deliver the vehicle because the firm only sells new vehicles through its official website, and not through any third-party platform or dealer, the Shanghai-based unit said last week.

With help from Yiauto and Pinduoduo, the customer was reported to have successfully picked up his car and insured it by the Securities Times and other social media outlets yesterday.

Yiauto, run by Xiamen Yiche Shidai Information Technology, operates as a car-selling chain with both online and offline outlets.

Editor: Kim Taylor