Tesla’s battery range exaggerations have triggered an investigation from the Department of Justice (DOJ).
According to new documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Tesla has stated that not only is it facing previously reported lawsuits over the range issue but a probe from the DOJ as well.
Over the summer, a report from Reuters alleged that Tesla was purposefully inflating the EV range numbers and the company was doing so based on direct orders from its CEO Elon Musk.
When Tesla customers scheduled service appointments because they thought something was wrong with their vehicle, as it was not living up to the range expectations, the company went out of its way to avoid them. Tesla had reportedly set up a specific “Diversion Team” tasked with canceling as many range-related appointments as possible.
As The Verge highlighted, most car companies use very conservative estimates in their EV car range claims. Tesla, however, has done the exact opposite. Car & Driver has put these range claims to the test and found that EV cars by manufacturers like BMW and Mercedes often met or went beyond the state range estimates. When testing Tesla vehicles, the outlet found that the company’s stated EV range was “on average two times as far off the label value as most EVs.”
One of the biggest barriers keeping potential customers from buying an electric car is “range anxiety,” or how far the car can drive before needing to recharge. A company advertising a high-range EV vehicle would have an edge over competitors and even customers’ concerns about EVs.
“Elon wanted to show good range numbers when fully charged,” a source familiar with the Tesla range issue told Reuters at the time of the report.
