Tesla: SEC investigated allegations about model 3 production



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Tesla said in a regulatory filing released Friday that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had summoned the automaker to comment on its 2017 production of the Model 3 sedan.

"The SEC issued subpoenas to Tesla regarding: (a) Mr. Musk's earlier statement that he was considering privatizing Tesla and (b) some of the projections we made for the production rates of Model 3 in 2017 and Other public statements regarding the model 3 production, "said Tesla in the filing.

"… we consider that these cases are not significant and, to our knowledge, no government body in an ongoing investigation has concluded that there is any wrongdoing", added the manufacturer.

In August, the Wall Street Journal reported that the SEC was investigating Tesla's forecast of the production of Model 3 in 2017. On October 26, the publication indicated that the Ministry of Justice was also investigating the case.

According to The Journal, the Department of Justice is trying to determine if the builder made forecasts in 2017 on the production of Model 3 that he knew he was not able to achieve. While Tesla CEO Elon Musk m said in july 2017, Tesla could manufacture 20,000 models 3 per month from December 2017, compared to 2,685 model 3 vehicles in 2017.

According to The Journal, the DOJ's investigation has "intensified" in recent weeks, with FBI agents apparently contacting former Tesla employees, who had previously been summoned and asked them to do so. to testify.

A Tesla representative told Business Insider last week that he had complied with a "voluntary request" for documents from the DOJ, but had not been summoned to appear by the Ministry. government agency.

"When we started the model 3 production ramp, we were aware of the difficulty of this task," added the representative. "In the end, given the difficulties we had not anticipated in this one-of-a-kind production ramp, it took us six months longer than planned to meet our forecast of 5,000 units per week. "

The GM did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

In October 2017, the Journal reported that when the production of Model 3 began in July 2017, the Tesla factory body shop in Fremont, California, was not fully functional. It would not have been fully installed before September 2017.

Tesla reached the late target of producing 5,000 models 3 in one week at the end of June 2018 and, in October, announced that it produced 53,239 models 3 in the third quarter, after forecasts of 50,000 to 55,000 copies. The automaker manufactured 5,300 models 3 during the last week of the third quarter, less than the goal of 6,000 weeklies that it had set for the end of the month. ;August.

Musk acknowledged in April that Tesla had been attempting to automate too many production jobs in the Fremont factory and would use more human workers in the assembly process.

The DOJ has reportedly been investigating Musk's comments on Twitter in August regarding the possibility of taking Tesla in camera. These comments led to a SEC trial that was settled in September. Under the terms of the settlement, Musk is to step down as chairman of the Tesla board of directors for three years and pay a $ 20 million fine.

This is a story in development. Check back for updates.

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