Electric vehicle maker Tesla is facing serious claims in the USA that it has set up a  secret team to stifle thousands of complaints about vehicle range. 

News agency Reuters says it has reports from multiple sources that employees were told to discourage customers from bringing in cars for service who complained about range issues. Reports also say that a diversion team was created to deal with the problem of service centres being flooded with appointments on range related issues. This team, based in Las Vegas, allegedly celebrated each time they managed to convince a customer there was nothing wrong with their vehicle and a service appointment was cancelled. 

The vehicle owners in question believed they should be achieving a higher range based on Tesla claimed range estimates, both in advertising and on the vehicle dash. 

Reuters reports that Tesla allegedly rigged its range-estimating software by writing algorithms for the range meter that would display optimistic projections for the distance the vehicle could cover on a single charge. When the battery fell below 50% of its maximum charge, the algorithm would show drivers more realistic projections for their remaining driving range, and the system included a 24 km safety buffer to avoid a driver being stranded. 

Tesla has yet to respond to reports.