The US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Tesla following a whistleblower grievance alleging the corporate did not disclose quite a lot of security dangers related to rooftop photo voltaic panels from its . Per , the company acknowledged the probe in a Freedom of Information Act request made by Steven Henkes (pictured above), a former Tesla worker. 

He contacted the SEC in 2019 after the automaker allegedly ignored his pleas to inform shoppers and regulators in regards to the questions of safety with its photo voltaic panels. One of these concerned faulty electrical connectors that might trigger fires.

In 2020, Henkes later sued Tesla, alleging the corporate had dismissed him in retaliation for his actions. “The high lawyer cautioned any communication of this challenge to the general public as a detriment to the Tesla popularity,” Henkes mentioned in his grievance. According to the lawsuit, greater than 60,000 residential clients had been affected by the problems Henkes documented in his grievance.

The investigation follows a number of years of stories of security considerations with Tesla’s photo voltaic panels. In 2019, Walmart after its photo voltaic panels led to seven retailer fires. While the 2 corporations ultimately settled, Walmart claimed on the time Tesla usually despatched inspectors who “lacked fundamental photo voltaic coaching and data.” It additionally asserted the corporate’s panels had been stricken by seen defects. That similar 12 months, the Tesla photo voltaic panels at an in California reportedly caught hearth as nicely.