South Korea: Authority imposes million-dollar fine on Tesla

Tesla has to accept a hefty fine in South Korea. The US carmaker has been fined millions of euros for allegedly misleading customers about the potential range of its own e-cars, according to the competition authority.

Competition authority accuses Tesla of misleading customers

Higher, further, faster – that has not only been the credo in the competition of combustion cars for decades. Whoever could boast more horsepower and the highest speed was considered the king of the industry. It’s no different with electric cars. However, other parameters also play a major role here. For example, the possible range. After all, on long journeys, this determines how often you have to make a sometimes time-consuming charging stop at the nearest charging station. The South Korean competition authority, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), has been watching the activities of the car manufacturers all the more closely. Tesla is said to have attracted negative attention. The company is said to have made misleading statements about the range of its electric bolides.

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In doing so, the authority pointed in particular to the information that Tesla issues on its own website. There, one could see a range as well as cost comparison between classic internal combustion engines and a Tesla since 2019. On top of that, the company under the leadership of CEO Elon Musk is said to have gone too far out on a limb when it comes to its own charging stations in the form of Superchargers. This is now costing Tesla dearly. The e-car giant must now pay a fine of just under 2.1 million euros, according to a report from Reuters. While the sum itself is likely to be peanuts for the company, the accusations damage Tesla’s reputation immensely.

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Effect of cold temperatures on battery downplayed

Anyone who owns an electric car or a plug-in hybrid knows that cold temperatures have negative consequences on the battery’s staying power. This is not only related to the fact that sub-zero temperatures make you want to turn on seat heaters and the like for more comfort. On top of that, the battery capacity runs out faster simply because of the cold temperatures. If you consider that fluids circulate in the battery, which move more slowly in cool weather, you can understand the loss of power. This phenomenon can also be seen on a small scale in smartphones and other devices with a battery.

To ensure that the effects of cold temperatures are not too severe, Tesla provides tips for its own driving behavior in winter on its own website. However, Tesla did not point out to its customers for just under three years that cold temperatures also lead to a lower range. The South Korean competition authority states that Tesla’s range drops by almost 50 percent in cold conditions. A correction by Tesla had already taken place on its own website. The fine from the South Korean authority will certainly have something to do with this.