Snapshot from IUNICORN's Weibo 

Apr. 28 (NBD) -- App-based ride-hailing platform IUNICORN recently put up three billboards at Times Square in New York criticizing electric carmaker Tesla for product quality problems and inefficient after-sales service. 

When approached by National Business Daily (NBD), a person-in-charge at Tesla China declined to comment on the ground that he/she had no idea about the billboards. 

Affiliated to Guizhou Millennium Green Taxi Services Co founded in March 2012, IUNICORN runs a large fleet of high-end cars, including the Cadillac CT6 and BMW's new-energy models. Between 2016 and 2017, it bought a total of 278 electric vehicles from Tesla, becoming the biggest consumer of Tesla cars in Asia Pacific. 

In a statement released via Sina Weibo on Friday, IUNICORN said frequent quality issues with Tesla cars and the U.S. carmaker's unsatisfactory after-sales services have seriously affected the ride-hailing platform's normal operations, having caused a loss of up to 6.5 million yuan (965,724.2 U.S. dollars). 

"We have had several rounds of talks with Tesla over these issues, but the U.S. electric vehicle maker hasn't come up with a proper solution due to the inefficiency," the car-hailing platform held in the statement. 

The company uses billboards to claim rights, the same way a grieving mother adopted in the film In the Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, so as to exert public pressure on Tesla.

"As the film noted, a higher level of exposure in public means a bigger chance of addressing the problem," IUNICORN said. 

On the billboards, the car-hailing app claimed over 20 percent of Tesla cars it bought successively suffered electrical and mechanical failures, but didn't get repaired until a year later due to Tesla's slow response and short supply of spare parts. 

The quality issues not only resulted in an economic loss but harmed the interests of drivers and riding experience of users, the company added.   

Facing the accusations of IUNICORN, a source close to Tesla China told NBD the China unit hasn't received any response from Tesla.  

Email: lansuying@nbd.com.cn