SEC reportedly began Tesla probe last year

Federal regulators began a probe into Tesla last year, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The Securities and Exchange Commission subpoenaed a Tesla parts supplier in an investigation over whether the automaker misled investors about Model 3 production problems, the report said.

The news suggests that the company was under investigation well before Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted that he had “secured funding” to take the company private at $420 a share.

Separately on Thursday, Tesla sued the Ontario, Canada, government on grounds it screwed buyers of the electric vehicle when it shut down the province’s rebate program.

The suit, filed in Ontario’s Superior Court on Thursday, accuses Premier Doug Ford of denying “hundreds” of Tesla customers rebates up to $14,000 apiece.

It also demands an “urgent” hearing, saying the government’s transition plan targets only Tesla buyers.

A government spokesman declined to comment.