Tesla has been told to pay compensation of 136,000 kroner ($A21,057) per car to owners of older Model S vehicles in Norway that reported a loss of driving range and charging speed after a software update.
Complaints were made in December 2020 following a software update in 2019 which saw Tesla Model S electric sedans with 85kWh battery packs bought between 2013-2015 in many countries experience drops in driving range of around 10%, and more significantly, charging rate decreases of as much as 75%.
Tesla did not appear at the hearing regarding the Norwegian case, which saw more than 30 owners file complaints, Norwegian news site Nettavisen reported. In Norway, up to 10,000 Model S were affected by the problem and the ruling could cost Tesla more than $A200 million.
Whether Tesla will pay or not is uncertain. The verdict was announced on May 17 and the company has been ordered to pay by May 31 or appeal the case by June 17 to the Oslo Conciliation Board.
Electrek reports that when the issue first occurred in 2019, Tesla said that the goal of the update was to “protect the battery and improve battery longevity,” and it resulted in a range loss for only “a small percentage of owners.”
But the ruling could pave the way for similar cases in other countries. In Australia, several Tesla Model S owners say they were affected after the 2019.16.1 and 2019.16.2 software updates.
While many news sites are placing emphasis on the decrease in driving range, owners commenting in the official Tesla Owners Club of Australia group on Facebook note it is the decrease in charge rate, and therefore longer charging time, that is causing the most pain.
In a post regarding the Norway ruling on Monday, several owners commented that they noticed their charging speeds were throttled significantly after the update.
For Tesla owners living in regional areas in particular this creates massive problems, particularly if their regular commute relies on a quick top up mid-trip.
While Tesla Model S vehicles of that vintage before the update had an official top charge rate of 120kW (in actuality it was more like 116-117kW), this refers to the peak that every battery charging profile displays before tapering off.
However, after the update, drivers in Australia reported shorter peaks and lower average charge rates. One owner said that the charge rate decrease has added an extra hour to their weekly commute on the Hume highway.
Another owner claims their charge rate decreased to a very brief peak of 85kW, then averaged out at 60kW before tapering off to 20kW. A third owner suggested their average charge rate dropped to 30kW.
The Driven understands that the navigation portion of the software was also not updated, making it hard for owners to predict when they will reach their destination due to the longer charging time.
The Driven has reached out to Tesla Australia for comment but the EV maker has so far declined to respond.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.