By Hyunjoo Jin

SAN FRANCISCO, (Reuters) – The U.S. Securities regulator opened an investigation into Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:) Inc following a whistleblower complaint that Tesla failed to adequately notify shareholders and the general public about fire risks related to solar panel system defect over many years. According to a letter sent by the agency.

It raises regulatory pressure upon the world’s largest automaker. The federal safety probe already into accident involving its driver-assistant systems is underway. Although concerns about Tesla’s solar system fires have been raised before, this report by the Securities Regulator is its first.

After Steven Henkes filed a Freedom of Information Act complaint about Tesla’s solar system in 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission released the Tesla probe and requested information.

In a September 24 reply to Henkes’ request for records, the SEC stated that it had confirmed with Division of Enforcement staff “that the investigation from the which you seek records” and declined to give them. SEC officials stated the reply should not be considered as an indication that there were any violations of the law. Reuters could confirm this response.

Henkes is a former Toyota In August 2020, Motor (NYSE:), quality division manager was fired by Tesla. He sued Tesla, claiming that the firing was in retaliation to raising safety concerns. Reuters emailed Tesla with questions but Tesla didn’t respond. The SEC did not comment.

Henkes alleged that Tesla and SolarCity did not inform shareholders of their “liability, exposure to property damage and risk of injury to users” before and after they acquired SolarCity in 2016.

According to the complaint, Tesla failed to inform its customers about defective electrical connectors that could cause fires.

Tesla advised consumers to perform maintenance on its solar panel systems to keep it in good condition. This would prevent the possibility of the panels failing and potentially shutting down the entire system. Henkes stated that Tesla did not notify consumers about fire dangers or offer temporary shut down to reduce risk.

According to the lawsuit filed against Tesla Energy in November 2013, more than 60.000 residential customers were affected and 500 commercial and government accounts were also affected.

The number of these remains after Tesla’s remediation isn’t clear.

Henkes was a former quality manager in Toyota’s North American quality department. He moved to SolarCity in 2016 as a quality engineer, months before Tesla bought SolarCity. According to Henkes, his duties were changed following the acquisition.

In the SEC complaint Henkes stated that he had told Tesla management to stop the solar system from catching fire, notify the public and report it to safety regulators. After his phone calls from Tesla management were not answered, Henkes filed a complaint with the regulators.

“Any communication regarding this issue to the general public could be detrimental to Tesla’s reputation,” said the top lawyer. He stated in the SEC complaint that he considered this to be criminal.

The concerns and litigation over Tesla’s solar system problems and faulty connectors date back many years. Walmart (NYSE:) in a 2019 lawsuit https://www.reuters.com/article/us-walmart-tesla-solar-lawsuit-idUSKCN1VA26B against Tesla said the latter’s roof solar system led to seven store fires. The allegations were denied by Tesla and both parties settled.

Business Insider covered Tesla’s plan to replace damaged solar panel components in 2019.

PlainSite has provided documents that show several homeowners or their insurance companies have brought suit against Tesla and Amphenol (NYSE) regarding fires in relation to their solar system.

Henkes also made a complaint at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CNBC reported in this year that they are investigating. Amphenol and the CPSC didn’t reply to requests for comment.