The filing didn’t mention the May 7 crash among the company’s risk factors.
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Electric vehicle maker Tesla Motors says it hasn’t been informed of a government investigation into its disclosure of a fatal crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced last week it is investigating the crash “to determine whether automated functions were in use at the time of the crash”. 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.
The driver couldn’t get a signal for his cellphone at the crash site and couldn’t reach Tesla right after the accident, according to his friend on TMC.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is looking into whether Tesla breached securities laws by not telling investors about a fatal Autopilot crash that occurred on May 7th in Florida. The SEC declined to comment to CNBC.
The Tesla Model S version 7.0 software update containing Autopilot features is demonstrated during a Tesla event in Palo Alto, California, U.S., October 14, 2015. Tesla has yet to do so, and its role in last month’s fatal crash of an OH man has raised new questions about the safety of its technology.
But the stock fell almost $3 in after-hours trading, perhaps as a result of news concerning the SEC investigation. Even if it was, the company said, a single crash was not material to investors because it is a “statistical inevitability” that does not affect the performance metrics for Autopilot Tesla advertised to investors.
Tesla spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson said the company was aware of the Montana accident and is looking into it. Tesla, while offering Autopilot features, has in the past suggested that the driver must always be responsible for driving safely – no matter what safety features are included in the auto. A police officer told the Detroit Free Press that the driver said the Autopilot system was engaged at the time of the accident.
“What Tesla was doing with autopilot was saying it was far more than it was”, he said.
In May, Tesla sold $2 billion worth of shares, in part to fund Musk’s plan to accelerate development of a new, lower priced electric vehicle, the Model 3.
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Then in June, Musk disclosed a plan for Tesla to buy residential solar panel installation firm SolarCity Corp for $2.8 billion in Tesla stock.
