Tesla is in scorching water in South Korea as almost 4,500 of its electrical autos have reported severe battery points, placing their eligibility for presidency subsidies in danger.
We’re receiving some troubling reviews from South Korea as we speak, because the Korea JoongAng Each day is reporting {that a} vital variety of Tesla autos are experiencing battery failures.
The difficulty facilities round a “BMS_a079 error,” a fault within the Battery Administration System that’s inflicting complications for almost 4,500 Tesla homeowners. This error, which has been reported in each Mannequin 3 and Mannequin Y autos, triggers a security protocol that limits the battery’s most cost to 50%. This successfully cripples the car’s vary, posing a serious inconvenience for homeowners who depend on their Teslas for every day driving.
The issue has been escalating for a while and impacts primarily 2021 autos, with a complete of 4,637 reported circumstances in 4,351 automobiles.
Listed below are the precise numbers Tesla reportedly shared with Democratic Celebration lawmaker Park Sang-hyuk:
| Whole | One-time failure | Two-time failure | Three-time failure | 4-time failure | |
| No. of automobiles | 4,351 | 4,086 | 245 | 19 | 1 |
| No. of circumstances | 4,637 | 4,086 | 490 | 57 | 4 |
As you may see, the issue has additionally been recurring after battery replacements in a whole lot of circumstances, which some blame on Tesla utilizing refurbished battery packs moderately than new ones.
For probably the most half, Tesla was protecting the repairs beneath guarantee. However many of those autos are actually out of guarantee, as they often exceed the utmost mileage. In these circumstances, homeowners are dealing with a staggering restore invoice of over 30 million gained (roughly $22,000) to get their automobiles again in working order.
This has, understandably, led to a rising refrain of offended clients.
As a lot as 22% of 2021 Mannequin Ys and 12% of 2021 Mannequin 3s in Korea are affected. This led individuals to consider that it had nothing to do with regular put on and tear, and it ought to be a recall for a defect.
A civic group, the Residents United for Shopper Sovereignty, is now demanding that Tesla Korea take duty for the problem. They’re calling for a full-scale recall of all affected autos and an intensive investigation by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport to get to the basis reason behind the issue.
The scenario has additionally caught the eye of the Korean authorities. The Atmosphere Ministry has issued a stern warning to Tesla: repair the issue, or threat shedding the profitable authorities subsidies which were a key driver of EV adoption within the nation.
A authorities official who handles EV subsidy packages informed the Korea JoongAng Each day:
“Now we have requested a transparent response from Tesla Korea concerning the problem, however have but to obtain one. If the corporate continues to stay unresponsive, we can have no alternative [but to consider suspending subsidies.] We can’t justify offering public funds for autos that drawback customers.”
The present subsidy for EVs in South Korea might be as much as 5.8 million gained (roughly $3,950), which is a big issue contributing to South Korea’s standing as a key marketplace for Tesla.
Tesla has constructed a powerful presence in South Korea, changing into the third-largest imported automotive model by gross sales in 2024. Nevertheless, this battery situation, coupled with the potential lack of subsidies, may considerably dent their market share.
Electrek’s Take
It is a creating story, and we’ll be holding an in depth eye on how Tesla responds to this stress from each the Korean authorities and its personal clients.
It’s not the primary time that Tesla has been discovered to restrict battery capability and charging by a software program replace.
Nevertheless, it’s the primary time that it has been linked to a big inhabitants of autos of a selected timeframe like that.
I’d like to know the basis reason behind this downside, as I don’t perceive why it primarily impacts South Korean homeowners.
My understanding is that the majority of Tesla’s autos bought in Korea are made at Gigafactory Shanghai in China, and that’s Tesla’s major export hub. Most of Tesla’s autos outdoors of the US are made in China. We should always begin seeing comparable points in different markets except there’s a selected contributing consider Korea.
