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Tesla accuses car lobby group of making ‘plainly false’ claims to media outlets and running a ‘concerted public campaign’ that misrepresents emissions standard in Australia

Exclusive: Electric car company says Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries is running a ‘concerted public campaign’ by suggesting plan would push up price of popular cars

Tesla has launched a scathing attack on Australia’s main auto industry lobby group, accusing it of attempting to delay climate action by repeatedly making “plainly false” claims to the public about an Albanese government clean car policy. The Australian arm of Elon Musk’s electric car company said the lobby group had been running a “concerted public campaign” against the government plan, including claiming to multiple media outlets that it could increase the price of popular utes by up to $13,000 despite knowing this was not how the system worked. It said FCAI’s position was “discordant” with the public commitments of several of its members, including Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz, which had all said they would stop selling combustion engine models in leading markets by 2035.

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