As if the lawsuit against Twitter wasn’t enough, Elon Musk is now in hot water with his Tesla company. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission is issuing a US$2.2 million fine against the electric car business for false advertising. Apparently, it has to do with false information pertaining to the driving range and how fast the vehicles recharge.
Since Tesla established itself in the Asian country in 2015, it’s sold about 45,812 units, according to September 2022 numbers. The company advertised specific numbers regarding how quickly the vehicles recharge and how far they can drive on full batteries. It looks like it may have been false marketing, as many South Korean vehicle owners are complaining.
It’s actually not the first time I’m seeing Tesla complaints this week. Movie maker and screenwriter, Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium, Chappie, upcoming Gran Turismo movie), tweeted that the window on his Tesla vehicle randomly shattered. Many Twitter fans commented that the same thing happened to them. It’s ironic, as Elon Musk made a video showing the strength of these windows by throwing a metal ball against one.
One hilarious chap also commented that Neill probably lost his blue check mark.
Jokes aside, we’ll have to see how Tesla addresses the concerns of the Fair Trade Commission in South Korea. It also sent a report about a cancellation policy that doesn’t have sufficient information for consumers. This goes against an electronic commerce act in the country, which the commission holds highly. It could result in buyers losing money if the terms and conditions of canceling orders aren’t spelled out correctly.
It would be great if we could get some comments from Elon Musk about the state of his current companies. At the moment, Tesla and Twitter appear to be in deep water. The SpaceX project is the one that interests me the most, as I love astronomy and the study of planetary objects. I dearly want us to succeed in moving to Mars. At the moment, the project is trying to raise funds to the tune of US$750 million for the year ahead.