Tesla says it is installing an older and slower chip in its Model 3 cars, blaming coronavirus for supply chain issues. The move has sparked anger from Chinese users who found that their cars are using the older chip.
Owners of the Model 3 vehicles produced in China found the 2.5 version as opposed to the 3.0 processor in their cars. Tesla cars started using the 3.0 chip since April 2019. The chip can process images 21 times faster than the 2.5 version.
Some of the Tesla owners also accused the company of deceiving consumers while some others called for a boycott of the U.S. company on the Chinese blogging site Weibo.
“Tesla used whatever components that were available to make a quick profit. It’s disgusting,” one user said.
“What if we did not find out? Tesla, you have failed to live up to the expectation of Chinese people and government,” another bitterly expressed.
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Tesla to replace Model 3 chip for free
Tesla says it would change the chip for free whenever the supplies resume. In a statement, the electric car maker said: “We are deeply sorry for the confusion we have caused to some Tesla owners.”
The company says that its intention was not to mislead customers. However, it wanted to complete order deliveries as soon as it could. It further added that there was “almost no difference” in driving experience and user safety for the standard Model 3.
Some Tesla owners have formed an online consumer rights protection group and have even filed complaints to the consumer association.
“I decided to buy a Tesla because it has better self-driving computing technology than its peers. But Tesla replaced the chips without telling customers. It has already constituted fraud in our opinion,” according to Musk Xu, a member of the Tesla consumer rights group.
Despite the outrage, analysts do not expect Tesla’s sales to suffer.
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