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According to a new Reuters report, Tesla overstated its EVs’ range estimates, causing owners to flood its service center. Elon Musk ordered algorithms to boost range numbers, according to anonymous sources and industry experts.
Service requests skyrocketed with sales. Tesla created a “diversion team” to handle “range cases”—owners complaining of lower ranges—to reduce requests and costs.
Diversion team members were instructed to inform owners that EPA-approved range estimates were estimates. Customers would receive range-expansion advice. The endgame? Reuters found that canceling those appointments could save the company $1,000 per visit.
Reuters reported that it cannot determine whether Tesla still boosts in-dash range estimates with algorithms.
Tesla has lied about its range before. According to the report, South Korean regulators fined Tesla $2.1 million earlier this year for misrepresenting driving ranges on its local website between August 2019 and December 2022. Tesla failed to inform owners that cold weather reduces its cars’ range, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission. The commission said Tesla cars lost up to 50.5% of their claimed ranges in cold weather.
Tesla has avoided U.S. regulator fines. Since 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has required Tesla to reduce its advertising range estimates by 3%.
Range estimates are inconsistent, allowing automakers to push the system. The EPA reviews and approves those estimates, but automakers can use a standard formula to convert fuel economy results or conduct additional tests to estimate range. Tesla always did the latter, which yields better numbers.
