Tesla revises ads following South Korea probe on possible mislabelling

Tesla reportedly changed its advertisement related to Model 3's driving range after South Korea launched a probe due to possible exaggerated specifications of its batteries. The Korean antitrust watchdog discovered the description in its ads does not match with the actual performance of the vehicle.

According to Reuters, the Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle's description on the automaker's website in S. Korea was modified to state that it has the capacity to travel a "maximum" of 528 kilometers or 328 miles on a single charge from "more than" 528 km. The change in the details was said to have been checked by the local media.

Last week, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) revealed it has forwarded a report to Tesla to present its findings. This was after the regulator carried out an investigation for possible exaggerated advertising in its mileage.

The report that the KFTC sent to Elon Musk's EV company stated that some of the models, including its Model 3, may have violated the country's Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising. Analysts said that generally, during cold weather, most electric vehicles experience some loss of driving range.

"The KFTC plans to give the automaker the opportunity to respond to our finding and then hold a general meeting to review and determine the extent to which the automaker has violated the law and decide the level of sanctions," a KFTC official who asked not to be named told the media.

Based on the reports, South Korea's Fair Trade Commission has not stopped checking on Tesla yet, and the investigation is still ongoing. Despite this, Tesla has already changed the details in its advertisement in the country as soon as it received the notice from the KFTC for possible misleading information violations.

In Seoul, winter temperatures usually reach below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, or 0 degrees Celsius, and electric vehicles are known to have their driving ranges drop in extremely cold weather because of battery performance issues that arose.

Finally, Bloomberg reported that the South Korean antitrust regulator gave Tesla a chance to disprove its finding, and now it will make its final decision on the matter, but this will take several months.