Tesla has consistently exaggerated the driving range of its electric vehicles, reportedly leading car owners to think something was broken when actual driving range was much lower than advertised. When these owners scheduled service appointments to fix the problem, Tesla canceled the appointments because there was no way to improve the actual distance Tesla cars could drive between charges, according to an investigation by Reuters.
Hoe much is the penalty for this?
Nothing.
They were already been fined in South Korea in January, for lying about the range(it was only $2.2m, but it shows that there are regulations and ramifications).
And it looks like there is evidence of them intentionally making their “remaining distance” and more, so it wouldn’t surprise me if the EU is getting involved. Which means there might be fines in the hundreds of millions, or billion range.
It’s not a fine but a lawsuit, at least in the U.S. So, someone (the FTC for instance or individual buyers) would need to file a civil suit. Max the FTC can collect on false advertising is $40k. Unless it’s found to be fraud, which is criminal.
So basically, nothing to Musk without a massive class action or a criminal indictment.
If the remaining distance software lies to you, isn’t that fraud?
Yes, but proving a criminal action requires proving intent. Much harder than a civil suit which only has to prove damages.