Tesla receives million-dollar fine in South Korea for misleading with cold range – Picture and sound – News

The South Korean market regulator has fined Tesla 2.1 million euros because the electric vehicle maker did not sufficiently inform customers about range in cold conditions. That range can be as low as 49.5% in cold weather.

Tesla violated South Korea’s advertising law with three false claims, says South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission. The company allegedly deceived customers with the range of electric vehicles, by advertising, 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 around 20 to 30 degrees Celsius and with a mix of highway and city mileage.

If the Model 3 Long Range drives in colder conditions and only in the city center, the car will not exceed 220.7 kilometers, says the South Korean Ministry of the Environment. However, Tesla only states on its website that a car with a charged battery can travel a certain distance, such as 446.1 kilometers. According to the regulator, the company does not indicate sufficiently that this can be half less in other circumstances, such as in the cold.

The Fair Trade Commission also points to the American site of Tesla, where the company indicates that the indicated range is maximum. On the South Korean website, the company says the customer may be able to drive more than the stated range.

The regulator also gives the 2.852 billion Korean won fine because the South Korean company does not have clear powers of the Supercharger charging network. For example, Tesla advertises that a Long Range Model 3 can travel 247 kilometers with a 15-minute charge 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 wouldn’t communicate clearly enough to customers.

Finally, the company allegedly also misled customers with claims of savings customers would get, because after buying a Tesla they no longer have to buy expensive gasoline or diesel. The Fair Trade Commission says Tesla has been breaking the law since August 2019.