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#The Wall Street Journal: SEC investigating Tesla over whistleblower’s solar-cell allegations

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“#The Wall Street Journal: SEC investigating Tesla over whistleblower’s solar-cell allegations”

Ex-Tesla worker claimed Tesla and SolarCity didn’t properly notify shareholders of fire risks its equipment posed

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an investigation into Tesla Inc. that touches at least in part on the company’s solar-cell activity.

The SEC acknowledged the probe in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by a former Tesla employee who previously filed a complaint with the SEC, according to documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal. The person alleged in the complaint to the regulator back in 2019 that Tesla
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and SolarCity, the solar-cell business it acquired, failed to properly notify shareholders and the public of fire risks associated with its equipment, according to one of the documents.

The individual, a former field quality manager at Tesla named Steven Henkes, in his records request sought information relating to his complaint. The SEC denied the request in a letter dated Sept. 24, 2021, saying there is an “active and ongoing” investigation, one of the documents states.

The SEC declined to comment. Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment on the probe previously reported by Reuters. It couldn’t be determined if the investigation remains open.

An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.

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