South Korean consumer group to file complaint over Tesla Full Self-Driving marketing
A South Korean consumer group plans to lodge a complaint on Thursday with the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), asking the regulator to stop Tesla from marketing its "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) software to customers whose cars cannot legally use it, according to Electrek, which cited Reuters as having reviewed the complaint.
The group, Citizens United for Consumer Sovereignty, is acting roughly a week after a Seoul court threw out a refund lawsuit brought by Korean owners who had paid for FSD, Electrek reported.
Why most cars are ineligible
Eligibility depends on where a car was built, Electrek reported. The Model S, Model X and Cybertruck are made in the United States and enter Korea under the KORUS free trade agreement, which accepts US safety standards. Only those models received "FSD (Supervised)" when Tesla turned the feature on in Korea late last year.
The Model 3 and Model Y sold in Korea are built at Giga Shanghai. Because no comparable agreement exists with China, those cars need Korean approval that FSD has not obtained, Electrek said. Using Tesla's own figures, Electrek reported that this group covers 99% of the Teslas the company sold in Korea last year.
Seo Young-deuk, Tesla's country manager for Korea, told lawmakers last month that FSD functions on roughly one-fifth of Teslas registered in the country, according to Electrek. Data the company gave the National Assembly shows more than 170,000 Shanghai-built vehicles sold in Korea since 2023, Electrek said.
What the group alleges
The complaint cites Tesla's "coming soon" promotion last year and a demonstration video filmed on Korean roads, saying neither made clear that FSD would work on only a small share of the cars Tesla was selling. The group says Tesla knew this and kept offering the package to every buyer, Electrek reported.
“Tesla generated substantial revenue by selling an expensive driver-assistance system to mass-market buyers who cannot use it for even a single day”
The group asks the KFTC to issue a temporary order halting FSD marketing for ineligible vehicles. It also seeks fines and a referral of the case to state investigators, according to Electrek.
Regulatory status
An agency official told Reuters that the KFTC began investigating Tesla's FSD advertising earlier this year and has since obtained written replies from Tesla, Electrek reported. Tesla did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
Electrek reported that Seo told an October 8 parliamentary hearing that Tesla had not yet made a formal request to the transport ministry for FSD testing. The company filed for certification roughly two weeks afterward, the outlet said.
The ministry told a lawmaker that FSD does not meet local safety rules, including a requirement that drivers keep their hands on the wheel, according to the report.
