Elon Musk has teased that he will release a "top secret Tesla masterplan" later this week, amid speculation that everyone's favourite eccentric tech billionaire is trying to distract attention from a recent spate of bad publicity.

In a tweet posted on Sunday, the electric car firm's chief said that this release would be "Part 2" of his plan—seemingly referring to a post he wrote almost exactly a decade ago, entitled "The Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan (just between you and me)."

The old post discussed Tesla's early forays into affordable, non-sports electric cars and the vehicles which would become the Tesla 3 sports sedan, and the Tesla S four-door car, so there's a good chance he's about to preview a major new release.

Working on Top Secret Tesla Masterplan, Part 2. Hoping to publish later this week. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 10, 2016

Tesla has recently been rocked by a series of recent high-profile crashes. US traffic safety authorities are currently in Florida, investigating the death in May of someone who had been driving a Tesla Model S while it was in "Autopilot" mode, which is designed to keep the car in lane and at safe speeds without constant human intervention.

Earlier this month, a Model X crashed into a guard rail on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has confirmed that it's investigating "to determine whether automated functions were in use at the time of the crash."

Neither the driver nor the passenger were hurt in the Model X crash, and Tesla has released a cagey statement saying it had "no data at this point to indicate that Autopilot was engaged or not engaged."

The company has been dogged by further crash reports this year, mostly relating to Autopilot mode. It disputes the accounts of two drivers, who claim that their Teslas crashed into a parked trailer, and the back of a car which came to a sudden stop on the highway near Los Angeles.

Joyriding teenagers in Germany, however, appear to have had their lives saved by Tesla's safety standards, after they lost control of a Model S and flew 25 metres into a field.