Tesla reportedly faces DOJ and SEC investigations over plans to build a large glass house for Elon Musk

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of Twitter, looks on as he attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 16, 2023.

Gonzalo Fuentes | Reuters

Tesla is said to be facing two new federal investigations regarding possible misuse of company resources by CEO Elon Musk or for his personal benefit.

It was first reported by the Wall Street Journal Wednesday Federal prosecutors along with the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and, separately, the Securities and Exchange Commission, are seeking information about how much Tesla spent planning and building a classified project, reportedly a vast glass house in greater Austin. In Texas, it is believed to be intended for Musk’s personal use.

The report also said that federal prosecutors in Manhattan are separately looking into whether Tesla intentionally misdisplayed the battery band for its electric cars. Reuters reported in July that Tesla cars are electric more often He failed to achieve his goal The company’s advertised range and that the cars’ touchscreens display the remaining inaccurate range to drivers.

Tesla and the Manhattan federal attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The SEC’s public affairs office told CNBC via email that the agency “does not comment on the existence or lack of a potential investigation.”

Such investigations do not always lead to the discovery of wrongdoing. However, the new investigations add to a series of other investigations that Tesla faces from state and federal regulators.

In its most recent quarterly earnings report, Tesla revealedWe routinely cooperate with Such regulatory and governmental requests, including subpoenas, formal and informal requests, investigations and other inquiries.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission in September 2018 charged Elon Musk and Tesla with civil securities fraud over the CEO’s tweets that said he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 per share, and funding was secured to do so. The company and Musk entered into and subsequently revised a settlement agreement with the agency, which requires the CEO to relinquish his role as chairman for three years at Tesla, and have his tweets reviewed by a securities attorney within Tesla before they are published, if they contain material business information. .

Following this revised settlement agreement, the SEC issued subpoenas to Tesla regarding its governance and compliance processes in connection with its settlement agreement.

Tesla also disclosed in its second-quarter 2023 financial filing that the DOJ requested documentation “regarding Tesla Autopilot and FSD features.”

The National Transportation and Highway Safety Administration recently revealed that it is about to present an outcome of an investigation of potential safety flaws in Tesla’s driver-assistance systems, which are marketed as a standard option for Autopilot, and premium options for Enhanced Autopilot, Full Self-Driving, and FSD Beta. in the United States. The NHTSA investigation began after a series of incidents in which Tesla cars equipped with Autopilot systems reportedly collided with stationary first responders’ vehicles.

Read the Wall Street Journal story here.