Automakers form EV group; Tesla’s ‘Diversion Team’ revealed
By Karah Rucker (Anchor), Ben Burke (Producer/Editor)
Media Landscape
See who else is reporting on this story and which side of the political spectrum they lean. To read other sources, click on the plus signs below. Learn more about this dataBias Distribution
Left
Tesla ‘diversion team’ secretly dodged driver complaints
Click to see story on NY Daily NewsHow a secret Tesla team reportedly thwarted customers’ range complaints
Click to see story on Los Angeles TimesTesla was so swamped with complaints about driving ranges that it created a secret team to cancel owners’ service appointments, source says
Click to see story on Business InsiderTesla EVs are apparently overestimating range when fully charged — on purpose
Click to see story on The VergeThe Morning After: Tesla reportedly formed a secret team to quash driving range complaints
Click to see story on EngadgetTesla Used ‘Diversion Team’ To Hide Range Problems
Click to see story on JalopnikTesla has created a secret team to deceive thousands of drivers about its practices/Shocking details of an investigation into the autonomy of electric cars
Click to see story on Hot NewsTesla’s secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints
Click to see story on ReutersTesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints
Click to see story on CNBCTesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints
Click to see story on WIONTesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints
Click to see story on Live MintSecret Tesla team reportedly thwarted range complaints by mass-canceling service appointments
Click to see story on Portland Press HeraldTesla has a range inflation problem
Click to see story on TechCrunchTesla Exaggerated Its Cars’ Driving Range—And Canceled Service Appointments If Drivers Complained, Report Says
Click to see story on ForbesTesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints, report says
Click to see story on Automotive NewsTesla suppressed thousands of range complaints using secret ‘diversion team’
Click to see story on Investing.comRight
Right
Untracked Bias
Tesla accused of lying about the autonomy of its vehicles and of suppressing customer complaints
Click to see story on BFM TVSource: about 10 years ago, Tesla rigged the dashboard to overstate battery range; in 2022, Tesla created a “Diversion Team” to suppress thousands of complaints
Click to see story on techmeme.comTesla suppressed electric car range complaints – report
Click to see story on CarExpertTesla exaggerated cars’ driving range – and cancelled appointments when drivers complained, reports
Click to see story on forbes.com.auIn an apparent effort to compete with Tesla in the electric vehicle (EV) marketplace, a group of seven major automakers announced they are forming a new company. The company aims to roll out 30,000 chargers in North America.
Automakers involved in this new joint venture include:
- General Motors.
- Stellantis.
- Hyundai.
- Kia.
- Honda.
- BMW.
- Mercedes Benz.
A name for the venture was not announced. The automakers also did not specify how much they would invest individually or collectively.
For perspective, one charging station can cost anywhere from from less than $100,000 to more than $200,000 to build. Industry executives familiar with the cost of chargers said establishing this venture could cost multiple billions of dollars.
“The investment will be far less through this partnership than building individual charging networks,” Akshay Singh, a partner at consultancy PwC Strategy&, said. “They also get to control the customer experience and collect data.”
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The White House supported the move by automakers to form the EV group in order to compete with Tesla. The Biden administration set a goal of having 500,000 chargers in the United States by 2030.
“That’s progress. That’s going to help middle-class families,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at her daily briefing on Wednesday, July 26. “This is part of Bidenomics, as you hear us talk about. It’s creating new union jobs for installation and maintenance.”
Tesla, which accounted for more than 60% of U.S. EV sales in 2022, has the largest network of fast-chargers with almost 18,000 Superchargers. The company said it would open part of its charging network to EVs from rivals in order to be eligible for a share $7.5 billion in federal subsidies.
While Tesla is still the undisputed leader in EVs, the company may have a controversy on its hands. A new report from Reuters found Tesla rigged its vehicles’ dashboards to overestimate how far drivers could go before they need to recharge. The report cited the story of Alexandre Ponsin, a Tesla vehicle owner who noticed he would get less than half the range his car told him he had at times.
“Ponsin contacted Tesla and booked a service appointment in California. He later received two text messages, telling him that ‘remote diagnostics’ had determined his battery was fine, and then: ‘We would like to cancel your visit,'” the report read. “What Ponsin didn’t know was that Tesla employees had been instructed to thwart any customers complaining about poor driving range from bringing their vehicles in for service. Last summer, the company quietly created a ‘Diversion Team’ in Las Vegas to cancel as many range-related appointments as possible.”
Neither Tesla nor CEO Elon Musk responded to Reuters’ request for comment on the report.
SEVEN MAJOR AUTOMAKERS ARE TAKING A CRACK AT TESLA’S DOMINANCE IN THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE MARKETPLACE — BY FORMING A NEW COMPANY TO PROVIDE E-V CHARGING IN THE U-S.
THE GROUP INCLUDES GENERAL MOTORS — STELLANTIS — HYUNDAI — KIA — HONDA — B-M-W — AND MERCEDES BENZ.
WHILE THESE COMPANIES MAKE UP ABOUT HALF OF U-S VEHICLE SALES — THEY ONLY OCCUPY A SMALL PORTION OF THE E-V MARKET.
THEY AIM TO ROLL OUT 30-THOUSAND CHARGING STATIONS IN NORTH AMERICA — STARTING ALONG MAJOR HIGHWAYS AND IN CITIES.
WHILE THE AUTOMAKERS DID NOT SPECIFY HOW MUCH THEY WOULD INVEST IN THIS PROJECT INDIVIDUALLY OR COLLECTIVELY — FOR REFERENCE IT COSTS ANYWHERE FROM LESS THAN 100 GRAND — TO MORE THAN 200 GRAND TO BUILD JUST ONE STATION.
INDUSTRY EXECUTIVES FAMILIAR WITH THE COST OF CHARGERS SAID ESTABLISHING THIS VENTURE COULD COST MULTIPLE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
WHILE IT STILL HAS A STRANGLEHOLD ON THE E-V MARKET — THINGS MAY NOT BE ALL SMOOTH SAILING FOR TESLA.
A NEW REUTERS REPORT CLAIMS THE COMPANY RIGGED ITS DASHBOARDS TO OVERESTIMATE HOW FAR DRIVERS COUILD GO BEFORE THEY NEED TO RECHARGE.
ACCORDING TO THE REPORT — TESLA BECAME SO INUNDATED WITH DRIVING-RANGE COMPLAINTS — A SPECIAL “DIVERSION TEAM” WAS CREATED TO CANCEL AS MANY RANGE-RELATED SERVICE APPOINTMENTS AS POSSIBLE.
NEITHER TESLA NOR ITS CEO ELON MUSK RESPONDED TO REUTERS’ QUESTIONS ON THE REPORT.
Media Landscape
See who else is reporting on this story and which side of the political spectrum they lean. To read other sources, click on the plus signs below. Learn more about this dataBias Distribution
Left
Tesla ‘diversion team’ secretly dodged driver complaints
Click to see story on NY Daily NewsHow a secret Tesla team reportedly thwarted customers’ range complaints
Click to see story on Los Angeles TimesTesla was so swamped with complaints about driving ranges that it created a secret team to cancel owners’ service appointments, source says
Click to see story on Business InsiderTesla EVs are apparently overestimating range when fully charged — on purpose
Click to see story on The VergeThe Morning After: Tesla reportedly formed a secret team to quash driving range complaints
Click to see story on EngadgetTesla Used ‘Diversion Team’ To Hide Range Problems
Click to see story on JalopnikTesla has created a secret team to deceive thousands of drivers about its practices/Shocking details of an investigation into the autonomy of electric cars
Click to see story on Hot NewsTesla’s secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints
Click to see story on ReutersTesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints
Click to see story on CNBCTesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints
Click to see story on WIONTesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints
Click to see story on Live MintSecret Tesla team reportedly thwarted range complaints by mass-canceling service appointments
Click to see story on Portland Press HeraldTesla has a range inflation problem
Click to see story on TechCrunchTesla Exaggerated Its Cars’ Driving Range—And Canceled Service Appointments If Drivers Complained, Report Says
Click to see story on ForbesTesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints, report says
Click to see story on Automotive NewsTesla suppressed thousands of range complaints using secret ‘diversion team’
Click to see story on Investing.comRight
Right
Untracked Bias
Tesla accused of lying about the autonomy of its vehicles and of suppressing customer complaints
Click to see story on BFM TVSource: about 10 years ago, Tesla rigged the dashboard to overstate battery range; in 2022, Tesla created a “Diversion Team” to suppress thousands of complaints
Click to see story on techmeme.comTesla suppressed electric car range complaints – report
Click to see story on CarExpertTesla exaggerated cars’ driving range – and cancelled appointments when drivers complained, reports
Click to see story on forbes.com.auVOTE WITH THE UNBIASED, STRAIGHT FACTS.™
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