U.S. Department of Justice issues subpoena to Tesla over exaggerated range of Tesla cars

Documents submitted by Tesla to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that the US Department of Justice is investigating the range of the company's vehicles.

US Justice Department issues subpoenas to Tesla in ongoing probes | Reuters

Tesla discloses DOJ probes over vehicle range, personal benefits
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/23/tesla-discloses-doj-probes-over-vehicle-range-personal-benefits-more.html

DOJ probing Tesla's EV range after reports of exaggerated numbers - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/23/23928563/tesla-doj-ev-range-exaggerate-investigation

Reuters reported in a special report in July 2023 that Tesla is being forced to respond to a flood of customer complaints about inflated range. Tesla vehicles reportedly had far less range than advertised, and in some cases were less than half the distance they could travel on a full charge.

Suspected that Tesla was responding to as many as 2,000 complaints a week by cheating on cruising range - GIGAZINE

In its quarterly report (Form 10-Q) filed with the SEC in October 2023, Tesla said, ``We received certain requests from the Department of Justice related to personal interests, related parties, range, and personnel decisions. We have received requests for information, including subpoenas, regarding this matter,'' and reported that the company is being investigated by the Department of Justice.

According to the American business newspaper The Wall Street Journal, Tesla is under investigation by federal prosecutors on suspicion of misappropriating company funds to the 'Glass House Project,' which is said to be the residence of CEO Elon Musk. . Multiple media outlets have suggested that the 'personal interests' and 'related parties' that the Justice Department is investigating may be referring to this case.

Tesla has also revealed that it has been requested by the Department of Justice to submit documents regarding its Autopilot and Fully Self-Driving (FSD) features, which are part of a criminal investigation into self-driving features that will begin in 2022. means that it is in progress.

Tesla targeted by Justice Department investigation over self-driving claims - GIGAZINE

Tesla has often been accused of overestimating range. For example, in 2020, Mr. Musk claimed that the shorter-than-expected range of Tesla's Model S was due to a mistake in testing, which was denied by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In addition, in 2021, each customer in Norway was ordered to pay 136,000 kronor (approximately 1.8 million yen) for intentionally slowing down the charging speed of the battery, and in 2023, cruising range was increased in South Korea. He was fined 2.85 billion won (approximately 317 million yen) for this reason.