The Directorate of Fraud Repression (DGCCRF) is heading head on Tesla France. In a press release published this week, the administrative authority accuses the subsidiary of the manufacturer of electric vehicles of multiple sprains of consumer law, in particular on its communication around autonomous driving.
Too optimistic promises of autonomy
The survey, launched in 2023 following complaints filed on the signalconso platform, was carried out by the DDPP agents of Yvelines. It highlighted a series of practices deemed problematic. The main one concerns the famous “fully autonomous driving capacity option” offered on certain vehicles. According to the DGCCRF, this appellation would be particularly misleading: it would suggest that cars are able to move without human intervention, while this is not the case in fact.
But this marketing mention is only the tip of the iceberg. The authority also cites blurred or incomplete sales contracts, without clear mention of the place, the date of delivery or the financing conditions. Payments would also have been required before the end of the withdrawal period – a practice however framed by law, in particular for purchases made on credit.
In addition to the promised autonomy, Tesla is also pinned for its delivery and after-sales service practices. The investigation notes a ” Priority of information »On delivery methods, but also the absence of receipt after partial payment in cash. Added to this is a non-compliance with the right of withdrawal: some consumers have never been reimbursed after canceling their order on time.
The DGCCRF gives Tesla France a period of four months to correct these practices. In the event of inaction, a fine of 50,000 euros per day may be imposed, as long as the breaches persist. The penalty is particularly aimed at allegations around autonomous driving, considered to be the most serious.
The French subsidiary is not the only one in the viewfinder. In the United States, a collective complaint has just been filed by a shareholder before a Federal Court in California. She accuses Tesla of having occurred her autopilot system, between 2019 and 2023, with ” materially false and misleading declarations Having, according to the complainants, artificially inflated the value of actions. System dysfunctions, including dangerous behavior at intersections, have been hidden.
This decision falls into an already complicated context for the manufacturer. In early June, several French customers initiated procedures against the brand, claiming that they no longer want to drive in a vehicle now associated with the toxic image of Elon Musk. For Tesla, reputation problems are starting to accumulate, and not only on the other side of the Atlantic.
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