Tesla faces fresh Norway lawsuit over false advertising

OSLO: Nearly 80 Tesla owners in Norway have sued the US automaker over misleading advertising, saying their electric car did not deliver the promised performance, Norwegian daily Dagens Naeringsliv (DN) reported on Thursday.

The plaintiffs complained that the real power of their Tesla S P85D, a sedan with one of the fastest accelerations in the world, was 469 horsepower and not 700 horsepower as promised by the manufacturer.

They want the same compensation as another group of 133 Norwegian Tesla owners who previously sued the company and reached a deal in December 2016.

Tesla agreed to compensate the 133 car owners by paying them 65,000 kroner (7,260 euros, $8,600) or by providing them with new equipment, according to the financial daily.

"It's the same kind of case that ended up in a compromise the last time," the plaintiffs' lawyer Christoffer Falkeid told the paper.

"It's about the power of the car and the mistakes in marketing and in the sales process but I do not want to go into amounts," he added.

Contacted by AFP, Tesla declined to comment.

A civil complaint will be examined in April by an Oslo court if no deal is reached until then.

According to Norwegian media, another group of 38 motorists also filed a lawsuit against Tesla last fall.

Norway, the world leader in electric cars in terms of market share, is one of the largest markets in the world for Tesla.

There ar a total of 1,201 Tesla S P85Ds in Norway.

Last year, Tesla sales in the Nordic country reached 8,465, all models combined.