Tesla under SEC probe: WSJ

The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Tesla Motors Inc waited too long to disclose a fatal crash in May that called into question the safety of an autopilot system that takes control of the car's steering and braking, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing sources.

Tesla said in a statement on Monday afternoon that it "has not received any communication from the SEC regarding this issue." The SEC declined to comment.

Tesla shares sank in after hours trading, after rising 3.7 percent during the regular trading day following a tweet by CEO Elon Musk on Sunday that he is working on a Top Secret Masterplan, Part 2 for the electric car company.

Musk, hinting at a possible new vision for the company, stated in the tweet that he hoped to "publish later this week".

The SEC is scrutinizing whether Tesla should have disclosed a fatal accident involving a Model S sedan operating in autopilot mode as a "material" event, or a development a reasonable investor would consider important, the Journal said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has already said that it was investigating the May 7 accident in Florida that killed 40-year-old Joshua Brown.

The timing of Tesla's disclosures about the accident has become an issue for the company in part because autopilot is a signature of its image as a pioneer in automotive technology.

Musk last week used his Twitter account to mount a defense of Tesla's decision not to disclose the accident until June 30, when the NHTSA said it was launching its investigation.