In a Monday afternoon report, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has revealed that the fatal crash involving Tesla Motors' Model S sedan -- in self-driving mode -- is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC), to ascertain whether securities laws were breached by the automaker by not disclosing the crash to investors.

The fatal crash took place on a Florida highway on May 7, when an 18-wheel semi-truck pulled in front of a Model S sedan being driven in autopilot mode by 40-year-old Joshua Brown. The crash - which was publicly reported by Tesla on June 30 - caused the death of Brown.

According to the WSJ report, based on the information shared by an unidentified source familiar with the matter, the SEC is carrying out a scrutiny into whether the fatal crash should have been disclosed by Tesla as a "material" event, or a development which could be deemed important by a reasonable investor.

As per the WSJ source, the SEC investigation is currently at a very early stage. As such, it is not certain whether it would result in any enforcement action by regulators.

Meanwhile, about the reported initiation of investigation by the SEC into a possible securities-law breach by Tesla, a company spokesperson said that "Tesla has not received any communication from the SEC regarding this issue," and added alongside that all the "relevant information" about the issue has been provided by Tesla in a blog post which it published last week.