A Chinese ride-hailing company is so unhappy with its fleet of 278 Tesla cars that it bought billboards in Times Square to demand refunds

• A Chinese ride-hailing firm is demanding refunds from Tesla after saying that 20% of the cars it purchased from the electric car maker experienced mechanical problems.
• Shenma Zhuanche says it took inspiration from the movie "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" when it took out three Times Square billboards to get Tesla's attention.
• Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Chinese ride-hailing company Shenma Zhuanche has taken inspiration from the Oscar-winning film "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" to air its grievances against Tesla.

The company says it took out three advertisements on Reuters' Times Square headquarters to demand Tesla provide compensation and better customer service after more than 20% of the 278 cars it purchased experienced "electro-mechanical failures," the company said.

Government-owned Global Times first reported on the scuffle.

"Shenma special vehicle and Tesla have made repeated negotiations but Tesla's internal efficiency is low, resulting in unsatisfactory after-sales service, long processing time for complaints, and delays in solving vehicle problems," Shenma said on its official Weibo account, adding that wait time for service has averaged 45 days, costing the company 6.5 million yuan, or approximately $965,099.

A Tesla spokesperson declined to comment.

Shenma also took its complaints to a Tesla retail store in Chengdu, where it made a statement and held signs with similar messaging to its Times Square campaign.

Last week, video of a Tesla Model S catching fire in a Shanghai parking garage made waves on social media in the country. A Tesla spokesperson said it was investigating the fire, which appeared to ignite without cause, alongside local authorities. According to Reuters, there have been at least 14 instances of Tesla vehicles igniting in the past six years, most of which have occurred after a crash.

In its latest quarterly earnings report, filed Monday, Tesla said it has secured a loan of 3.5 billion yuan ($521 million) for the construction of a second Gigafactory in Shanghai. The company has said construction of the factory will total around $2 billion.

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Get the latest Tesla stock price here.