The South Korean market regulator has imposed a fine of 2.2 million dollars on Tesla because the EV manufacturer did not sufficiently inform customers about the range in cold conditions. That range can be up to 49.5 percent lower in the cold.
Tesla violated South Korea’s advertising law with three false claims, South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission says . The company allegedly misled customers with the range of EVs, because it advertised, for example, the Model 3 with a range of 446.1 kilometers. According to a South Korean ministry, this range is correct, but only at temperatures of about 20 to 30 degrees Celsius and with a mixture of highway and city kilometers.
If the Model 3 Long Range drives in colder conditions and only in the city center, the car will not go further than 220.7 kilometers, says the South Korean Ministry of the Environment. However, Tesla only says on its website that a car with a full battery can drive a certain distance, such as 446.1 kilometers. According to the regulator, the company does not sufficiently indicate that this can be half less in other circumstances, such as in the cold.
The Fair Trade Commission also points to Tesla’s American site, where the company does indicate that the indicated range is a maximum. On the South Korean website, the company says that the customer may be able to drive more than the indicated range.
The regulator also gives the fine of 2.852 billion Korean won because the company in South Korea is not clear about the competences of the Supercharger charging network. For example, Tesla advertises that a Model 3 Long Range can drive 247 kilometers with a 15-minute charging time, but the Fair Trade Commission also finds this misleading. After all, this charging time depends on the speed of the charging station used, the outside temperature and the condition of the battery, which Tesla would not communicate clearly enough to customers.
Finally, the company would also have misled customers with the savings claims that customers would get, because after purchasing a Tesla they no longer have to buy expensive petrol or diesel. The Fair Trade Commission states that Tesla has been breaking the law since August 2019.
