The investigation intensifies regulatory pressure on the world’s most expensive carmaker, which has already faced a federal accident investigation
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched an investigation against Tesla (Tesla Inc) in connection with a report that the company did not properly inform its shareholders and the public about the risks of fire due to defects in the solar panel system in for several years, Reuters reported, citing an official letter.
The investigation is stepping up regulatory pressure on the world’s most expensive carmaker, which has already faced a federal accident investigation involving its driver assistance systems.
Information about fears of fire in Tesla’s solar systems has been published before, but for the first time an investigation has been announced by the stock exchange regulator.
According to a letter from former company employee Stephen Henkes, Tesla and SolarCity, which merged in 2016, did not notify shareholders of the risks of fire due to malfunctions in the solar panels. In addition, Tesla has not informed its customers that defective electrical connectors can cause ignition. More than 60,000 customers of the company and 500 companies are affected by the problem, the letter said.
And shares of Tesla fell more than 3% at the start of trading on Wall Street on Monday, after the news broke about the ongoing investigation against the company. Thus, they are already trading more than 20% below their record high of about 1243.49 dollars. This is a technical signal that Tesla’s shares have entered the so-called “bear market” (persistent trend of declining stocks).
The decline in shares of the electric car market leader has been exacerbated in recent weeks by share sales by CEO Elon Musk. In the last month, it has sold its shares in Tesla worth approximately $ 11 billion.
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