US automaker Tesla will be fined $2.2 million (2.85 billion won) for false advertising in South Korea, the country’s competition regulator said on Tuesday.
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According to the Korean Competition Commission (KFTC), a Tesla electric vehicle’s range can drop by 50.5% in cold weather, compared to data the manufacturer published on a website in Korean.
Tesla also withholds the statement that “the charging speed varies greatly depending on the type of charger, the outside temperature and the state of charge of the battery,” the KFTC confirmed in a press release.
Estimates of fuel savings are also skewed by the lack of information that the cost of EV charging depends on multiple factors, such as charging speed and government subsidy policies, the commission adds.
The South Korean competition authority has also imposed an additional fine of one million for a lack of information, especially in the case of order cancellations for its products.
Tesla was not immediately available to respond to these announcements.
On Monday, the manufacturer said it shipped 1.31 million electric vehicles in 2022, a record and a 40% increase in a year, but falling short of its own projections and Wall Street expectations.
After soaring in 2020 and 2021, the automaker’s stock plummeted 65% in 2022.