The SEC is scrutinizing whether Tesla should have disclosed the accident as a “material” event, alluding that it’s a development a reasonable investor would consider important.
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Tesla’s shares fell 1% in after-hours trading after the report about the perceived SEC investigation.
Tesla reported the fatal May 7th accident to the NHTSA after the crash, but didn’t disclose any details of the crash – which went on to make global headlines – to stockholders until after a stock sale. Tesla has also been doing its best to downplay another accident involving a Model S which may have had it engaged, saying that it has nothing to prove that Autopilot was to blame for either of the accidents.
Musk introduced Tesla’s first master plan in August 2006, when the company was only offering a $100,000-plus roadster. And they may want some reassurances that Tesla’s Autopilot system is safe after OH resident Joshua Brown was killed in May when his Model S sedan crashed into a truck despite having the partially self-driving system activated.
Tesla has warned drivers that its Autopilot is not fully autonomous and that motorists must still be vigilant when using the system, which can automatically change lanes, manage speed and brake to avoid a collision. Paul Grieco, one of the lawyers for the Brown family, told Reuters his firm has received calls from other Tesla owners involved in accidents, some involving autopilot and others not. This is the second time that the automaker will be facing an investigation by the NHTSA for its Autopilot function.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on Sunday that he might he has something big in the works, exactly what, could be revealed this week.
Tesla’s representative arrived on May 18th – the same day that the company began selling $2 billion in stock – and the investigation wasn’t completed until the last week of May.
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Earlier this month, Tesla said shipments to customers had fallen in the previous quarter, making it unlikely the company would meet expectations of 80,000 to 90,000 vehicle deliveries in 2016. That will be approximately thirty two times the present valuation of Tesla.
