Tesla is facing increasing legal pressure in South Korea, as the group Citizens for Consumer Sovereignty has filed an official complaint with the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), demanding an end to the marketing of the Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature to consumers whose vehicles cannot legally operate this feature.
The Root of the Problem: Manufacturing and Certification Discrepancies
The roots of the crisis lie in the origin of vehicle manufacturing; Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck models are imported from U.S. factories, which are the only ones that have received certification to use the FSD (Supervised) feature in Korea. In contrast, the best-selling Model 3 and Model Y come from the Giga Shanghai factory in China, and they do not possess the necessary certifications from Korean authorities to operate this feature.
According to data provided by Tesla to the Korean National Assembly, the FSD feature works on only about 20% of Tesla vehicles registered in the country, meaning the vast majority of buyers paid for a feature they cannot use.
Why This News Matters
This issue raises questions about the transparency of technical marketing practices by global companies. Tesla has continued to collect large sums of money from buyers for the FSD feature for years, whether through a one-time payment (approximately $6,726) or through monthly subscriptions, without sufficient clarification that this feature is illegal or unsupported in most of the cars sold.
Furthermore, a parliamentary session last October revealed that Tesla did not formally apply to the Ministry of Transport to test the FSD feature until late October 2026, despite having sold the feature for years. These applications face technical and regulatory challenges, as the feature currently does not comply with local rules that require the driver to keep their hands on the steering wheel, whereas Tesla's technology relies on camera monitoring of the driver's eyes.
Implications
This complaint comes just one week after a Seoul court rejected a lawsuit to refund customers who purchased the FSD feature, with the court attributing the reason to Korean regulations rather than company negligence. However, the intervention of the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) could shift the balance of power, as the commission has already begun an investigation into Tesla's advertisements, which could lead to fines or court orders to stop misleading marketing practices in the Korean market.