(Yicai Global) March 14 -- Tesla vice president has denied rumors claiming that the US electric vehicle maker plans to acquired struggling Chinese carmaker Zoyte Automobile.

“The content of this document is untrue and the signature and company seal were forged,” Grace Tao said on her Weibo account yesterday, reposting a commitment letter allegedly signed by Tesla. “This rumor is fake and we will report the case to the public security organ.”

A commitment letter in which Zhejiang Provincial Administration for Market Regulation informs Zoyte Auto about Tesla’s purchase, asking the Chinese EV maker to wait to receive a license before engaging in any relevant business or production circulated online yesterday. The document was signed by Zhu Xiaotong, president of Tesla China.

Zotye is a Chinese new energy vehicle manufacturer, headquartered in Yongkang, in Zhejiang Province. The company announced a bankruptcy reorganization last year and since then, a number of car companies have been rumored to be involved in the acquisition of Zotye.

On Nov. 3, last year, Tao said on Weibo that Tesla was not planning to site its second Gigafactory in China in the port city of Qingdao, after it was rumored online the same day that the EV maker was about to build a second production plant in China’s Shandong Pilot Free-Trade Zone.

In recent years, Tesla has been planning capacity expansions, therefore ending up at the center of rumors claiming that it will build various factories and acquire other carmakers’ production lines.

Editor: Futura Costaglione