Tesla was fined 2.85 billion won by South Korea for exaggerating the mileage of an electric car

CTOnews.com, January 3 (Reuters)-South Korea's antitrust regulator said it would fine Tesla 2.85 billion won (currently about 15.504 million yuan) because the company did not tell customers that its electric cars had short mileage at low temperatures, Reuters reported.

South Korea's Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said that since August 2019, Tesla has exaggerated "the range of his car on a single charge, the fuel cost-effectiveness compared to gasoline cars and the performance of the supercharger" on his local official website.

The mileage of Tesla's car in cold weather has been reduced by up to 50.5% compared with the advertisement, KFTC said in a statement on Tuesday. Tesla has not commented.

On Tesla's official website, the company offers winter driving skills, such as pre-processing vehicles with external power sources and using its updated Energy app to monitor energy consumption, but does not mention the loss of mileage at sub-zero temperatures.

In 2021, South Korean consumer group Citizens United for Consumer Sovereignty quoted South Korean environmental data as saying that the mileage of most electric vehicles would drop by as much as 40% in cold temperatures, with Tesla being the most affected.

CTOnews.com learned that KFTC also fined German carmaker Mercedes-Benz and its South Korean subsidiary 20.2 billion won (currently about 110 million yuan) last year for false advertising about emissions from its diesel passenger cars.