Tesla quits major Australian auto lobby over its ‘false claims’ about government’s clean car policy

Tesla has written to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries questioning its claims about how the government’s proposed vehicle efficiency standard would affect prices of cars and utes. Photograph: Jason Reed/Reuters

Tesla is quitting Australia’s main auto industry lobby group and has asked the consumer watchdog to investigate what it says are the organisation’s “demonstrably false claims” about the impact of the Albanese government’s clean car policy.

In a letter to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) on Thursday, Tesla said it had serious concerns about the lobby group’s public claims that the government’s proposed vehicle efficiency standard would significantly push up the price of most popular cars and utes, and significantly reduce the price of Tesla models.