Tesla has claimed the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) of making false and misleading public statements about the impact of the Australian Government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standards (NVES) on vehicle prices.
In a detailed letter dated March 7, 2024 to Tony Weber, CEO of the FCAI, Tesla outlines several key allegations against the industry body.
Tesla’s letter states, “Over the past three weeks, Tesla considers that the FCAI has repeatedly made claims that are demonstrably false.” The electric vehicle manufacturer expressed concern that the FCAI’s behavior is likely to mislead or deceive Australian consumers.
Highlighting a specific instance, Tesla pointed out, “For example, News.com.au published an article that featured claims made by the FCAI about the impact of the NVES on upfront vehicle prices… According to these graphics sourced from and attributed to FCAI, next year the Tesla Model 3 will be ‘$15,940’ and the Model Y ‘$15,390′ under proposed new vehicle efficiency standards. This is simply untrue.”
The letter also addresses the FCAI’s approach to calculating vehicle price changes, stating, “It is misleading to claim that all vehicles above the CO2 target will incur penalties.” Tesla criticized the FCAI for allegedly selecting the most polluting variants of vehicle models to represent entire models’ pricing under NVES, as in the case of the Ford Ranger.
Furthermore, Tesla challenged the FCAI’s representation of how the NVES functions. The letter explains, “A – Car companies will pay no penalties at all if their average emissions comply with standards…B – Car companies trade credits at below the penalty price.”
Concluding, Tesla’s letter announces its impending withdrawal from the FCAI, stating, “Considering these concerns, Tesla will cease to be members of the FCAI at the end of the 23/24 financial year.” Tesla committed to continuing its sales reporting through VFACTs to ensure continuity in the public reporting of vehicle trends, including electric vehicle uptake.
Necessary but regrettable decision. Thank you @samuelmclean for sticking to the Tesla mission.
— Rohan Patel (@rohanspatel) March 7, 2024
“Necessary but regrettable decision,” said Tesla’s Rohan Patel in response to the letter.
