Tesla FSD complaint: 99% of Korea car sales ineligible — SkimNews
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- Citizens United for Consumer Sovereignty plans to file a KFTC complaint Thursday seeking a temporary halt to FSD marketing for ineligible cars, fines and a referral to state investigators, a week after a Seoul court dismissed an owners’ refund suit.
- Tesla country manager Seo Young-deuk told lawmakers FSD works on about 20% of registered Teslas in South Korea; using Tesla’s own figures, the consumer group says 99% of vehicles sold there last year were ineligible.
- Giga Shanghai-built Model 3 and Model Y require Korean approval that FSD does not have, while US-built Model S, Model X and Cybertruck qualify under the KORUS free trade agreement.
- Tesla charged a one-time 9.043 million won (about $6,726) for FSD for years, then moved to a 150,000 won ($112) monthly subscription in August.
- Tesla sought transport ministry certification only about two weeks after an October 8 parliamentary hearing at which Seo said it had never formally requested FSD testing, despite collecting fees for more than three years.
- KFTC opened an FSD advertising probe earlier this year and received Tesla’s written responses; the transport ministry separately told a lawmaker that FSD does not meet local rules requiring drivers to keep their hands on the wheel.
- Tesla passed BMW this year to become South Korea’s top imported car brand, showing that the FSD dispute did not slow vehicle sales.
Why it matters: According to the complaint, mass-market buyers paid for a system they cannot legally use, while KFTC already has an advertising probe and Tesla’s written responses. The requested marketing halt, fines and state-investigator referral add concrete regulatory stakes to a feature once sold for 9.043 million won per car.
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