Tesla to be called Tuosule in China: Autoblog

[brianstorms]

From a brand-new article on Autoblog (8/20/2013):

Tesla is not Tesla anymore, at least in China. The Palo Alto-based manufacturer has apparently given up on the fight over its name, for the time being. The name "Tesla" was trademarked by one Zhan Baosheng in 2006, while the American EV company didn't attempt to claim it until 2009 (we reported on this development a few weeks back).

 

[markb1]

Wow, this article uses the words "trademark", "patent", and "copyright" as if they were synonyms.

 

[AnOutsider]

I found this discussion interesting:

Wont be long before Baosheng sells the name to a chinese manufacturer and they start building "Tesla" cars. That's China.

Despite the massive amount of copying going on in China, no one, not even Chinese consumers, actually buy this stuff. Especially if the consumers have the financial means, they will buy the real thing. Domestic car companies in China have super weak sales, they make many models many of which are just ripoffs of American or German designs. While the manufacturers in China may be stupid, the consumers definitely are not.