(Yicai) Nov. 23 -- Tesla intends to appeal after winning a lawsuit against a disgruntled customer who protested against the American electric vehicle maker during the Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition almost three years ago, Securities Times reported yesterday.

Tesla is not happy with the penalty, an employee said to the news outlet. The court ordered the protester to pay CNY2,000 (USD280) to Tesla and issue a public apology.

In April 2021, the Model 3 owner who wore a "brake failure" T-shirt had climbed atop a Tesla vehicle at Auto Shanghai, claiming that her car had an accident due to faulty brakes. She was detained for several days for disturbing public order and received an administrative warning.

The verdict shows that the court had entrusted a third-party appraisal institution to assess the damaged vehicle and the brakes were fine, per the report.

Tesla has gone the extra mile to prove its innocence as when the protester sold the vehicle to a buyer, Tesla bought it back and paid an appraisal fee, spending hundreds of thousands of yuan, according to the employee.

Editor: Emmi Laine