With the Model 3 Tesla wants to make his electric cars mass suitable. But now there is trouble with consumer advocates: The criticize Tesla calculate the price of the car arbitrarily down.
Consumer advocates want to oblige the carmaker Tesla to change its advertising practice for the Model 3. The electric car manufacturer leads potential buyers astray and violates the price regulation, said the non-profit organization Wettbewerbszentrale. The Group offers the model accordingly for 56,380 euros – and the price down to 51,380 euros, by deducting fuel savings and tax benefits.
Through similar bills, Tesla also promoted the Model 3 at reduced monthly rates. The estimated fuel savings are „not just arbitrary, but also intransparent,“ it said in a statement.
The Model 3 will bring Tesla from the niche of premium manufacturers in a wider market. However, it does not appear from the advertisement for the model which operating costs Tesla took into account in the calculation and which other vehicle the savings would have yielded. In addition, the customer still had to pay the full mentioned purchase price.
„Such alleged price savings are marketing exaggerations at the expense of fair competitors,“ said Andreas Ottofülling, lawyer at the Wettbewerbszentrale. Tesla has committed to the supervisory authority out of court, not to repeat the advertising complained of. By March 20, the company must stop the practice for good. Tesla was initially unreachable for an opinion.
China: Customs problems with Model 3
In China, too, Tesla has problems with the Model 3: A large cargo hangs in customs in Shanghai. Among other things, the State Customs Administration objected to incorrect labeling. This may affect 4678 cars, according to a statement by the import authority. It’s about potential security issues and consumer protection.
Tesla confirmed that there had been „errors printing“ labels. They are working with customs to solve the problem, and hope that the cars will be released soon, said a spokeswoman for the news agency dpa. Sales and reservations in China are currently not affected. But it is not clear how long the import will take.
The Chinese business magazine „Caixin“ had reported that some vehicles lacked the required markings on the brake fluid tanks, while others had incorrect engine capacity.
Cars must be checked before import
Contrary to Tesla’s statement that the sale was not impaired, „Caixin“ reported that the Customs Administration had an immediate ban on selling the Model 3. Customs said the cars would need to be tested to see if they would meet Chinese standards before they could be launched.
China is the largest car market in the world, is driving forward electromobility and is therefore important for Tesla’s business. In January, Tesla started selling the Model 3 and laid the foundation for the company’s first factory in China in Shanghai. There, the Model 3 is to be produced.
Two days ago Tesla boss Elon Musk announced to build there also the model Y. This should be officially presented on March 14th. Like all models, this will only be sold online in the future. Tesla had decided to take this step because the group still wants to make a loss and wants to save costs.
