Asian Tech Press -- Tesla Inc. is looking to expand its PR and legal teams in China after a series of negative publicity and stricter regulatory scrutiny.

A post on Tesla's WeChat official account platform shows the U.S. electric vehicle giant is seeking external relations managers in cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Nanjing.

While the job posting did not specify duties of the external relations managers, previous postings suggest that the managers will handle government relations as well.

Tesla is also hiring additional PR managers in Shanghai, Nanjing, Shenzhen, Xi'an and Shenyang.

Beyond the PR team, Tesla is also expanding its legal team in China, hiring lawyers specialized in data privacy protection, antitrust, construction and after-sales areas.

In addition, the company is also soliciting media relations by seeking advertising or advertorial placements in Chinese media through PR firms.

Tesla has suffered a series of setbacks in China this year, including customer protests at the Shanghai Auto Show in April, a subsequent series of crashes, and regulatory scrutiny of its safety and customer service issues.

Data released last week showed that Tesla's EV shipments in China fell 69% in July from June to just 8,621 units. China is Tesla's second-largest market outside the U.S. and is key to the company's growth plans.