Yonhap news agency on late Monday reported the KFTC had sent
a report to the electric vehicle (EV) maker stating that it had exaggerated the
mileage of some of its models, including Model 3, in violation of the Act on Fair
Labeling and Advertising.
"We plan to hold a meeting to decide the level of
sanctions against the automaker," an official at the KFTC told Reuters.
Tesla, on its website, says its Model 3 can travel 528km
(328 miles) on a single charge. The KFTC says however that the range may fall
short of that should the temperature drop below freezing.
Analysts said most electric vehicles could generally
experience some loss of driving range in cold weather.
Tesla was not immediately available for comment when contacted
by Reuters.
The electric car-maker recently recalled nearly 579,000
vehicles in the US because a Boombox function can play sounds over an external
speaker and obscure audible warnings for pedestrians.
The cars and SUVs have what Tesla calls a Boombox function
that allows drivers to play sounds while the vehicles are moving, according to
data on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website last week.
This violates federal safety standards that require
pedestrian warning noises for electric cars, which make little noise when in
motion, the agency said.
It was the fourth Tesla recall made public in the last two
weeks as US safety regulators increase scrutiny of the nation's largest
electric vehicle maker. In two of the recalls, Tesla made decisions that
violate federal motor vehicle safety standards, while the others are software
errors.