Tesla quits Australian auto industry representative body after slamming its response to the government's New Vehicle Efficiency Standard

Tesla will leave the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) after the 2023-24 financial year in response to what it claims were "demonstrably false claims" made by the FCAI about the government's proposed New Vehicle Efficiency Scheme (NVES).

Tesla has informed the FCAI it will leave the industry representative body after mid-2024, with the electric car brand's Country Director for Australia and New Zealand Thom Drew stepping down from the FCAI board.

According to reports from the ABC and The Guardian, Tesla wrote in a letter to the FCAI it is "concerned that the FCAI has engaged in behaviours that are likely to mislead or deceive Australian consumers".

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The "behaviours" referenced by Tesla include claims from the FCAI that the proposed NVES would drive prices of popular new cars up by thousands of dollars over the next decade - a claim that was criticised as being based on a pricing model the FCAI knew wasn't the case.

An example submitted by Tesla included the FCAI using the Ford Ranger Raptor as the car on which it based its calculations - or in many cases choosing the most polluting version of each new car model available - and then adding any fines the NVES would attract for that model to its sticker price.

The Federal Coalition also jumped on board with this train of criticism, calling the proposed NVES a "family car and ute tax".

An example submitted by Tesla included the FCAI using the Ford Ranger Raptor as the car on which it based its calculations and then adding any fines the NVES would attract for that model to its sticker price.

Tesla also accused the FCAI of publicly announcing two of its models would drop in price by around $15,000 - "without checking with the company if this was the case", according to The Guardian.

"Tesla is also concerned that it is inappropriate for the FCAI to foreshadow or coordinate whether and how competitor brands implement price changes in response to environmental regulations such as the NVES."

In response to criticism from Tesla, a spokesperson for the FCAI told The Guardian "the FCAI and its members… want to continue to play their role in combating climate change and providing Australians with the zero and low emission vehicles they can afford, want to drive and… that meet their family, personal, recreation or work needs".

According to reports, Polestar is also considering leaving the FCAI.

CarsGuide has contacted Tesla and the FCAI for comment regarding the situation.

Weighing in on the news however was Behyad Jafari, CEO of the Electric Vehicle Council, who told CarsGuide he welcomes the ACCC's attention to claims of misinformation by the FCAI, saying the NVES would, as proven by other markets across the world, "improve consumer choice and lower fuel bills".

Tesla has informed the FCAI it will leave the industry representative body after mid-2024.

"Unfortunately they've also been proven to attract scare campaigns by dodgy lobby groups. It's one thing for companies to represent their own interests and profits, but when that veers into knowingly spreading misinformation it's important that gets called out.

"The idea that any model would shoot up by any significant amount can only be supported if you base your modelling on completely unrealistic assumptions, which is exactly what we now see the FCAI has been doing."

Like Tesla, Jafari also criticised the FCAI for foreshadowing or publicising dramatic pricing changes by the businesses that are its members.

"That an industry body would openly canvas their members' increasing prices in a coordination [sic] manner is a clear red flag and I welcome the ACCC's attention to it.

"Either the claims of price increases are entirely made up, or FCAI members have a very serious question to answer as to how that information came to be known by their industry body."