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American vehicle safety authorities have opened an investigation into Tesla vehicles featuring the full self-driving technology due to safety regulation breaches following multiple crashes.

Safety Agency Finds Traffic Law Breaches

The NHTSA stated that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which requires drivers to stay alert and take control when necessary, had caused car behavior that violated road safety regulations”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA marks the first step before possibly requesting a withdrawal of the cars if the authority concludes they present a danger to road safety.

Concerning Incident Reports

The regulatory body reported it had documented reports of 2.88 million Tesla vehicles driving through red lights and traveling against the incorrect way during lane changes while operating the technology.

NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla vehicle, operating with full self-driving engaged, “came to an junction with a red traffic signal, continued to travel into the crossroads against the red signal and was later part of a crash with other cars in the intersection”.

The authority noted that four crashes had caused one or more injuries.

Additional Issues Identified

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 complaints and one media report alleging that Tesla cars, operating at an intersection with FSD active, did not stay stationary for the entire time of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and show the correct traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

Several reporters also claimed that FSD “failed to give warnings of the system's intended behaviour as the vehicle was approaching a red light”.

Continuing Official Examination

Tesla's FSD, which is more advanced than its basic autopilot feature, has been being examined by NHTSA for a year.

In late 2024, the authority started an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles using FSD after four reported collisions in situations of reduced visibility, such as bright sunlight, mist or dust clouds. One such accident, in 2023, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “designed for operation by a completely alert motorist, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is ready to assume control at any time. While these features are engineered to become more capable, the presently active functions do not render the vehicle self-driving.”

Automated vehicle technology continue to face growing examination from safety agencies as the technology advances and real-world testing reveals possible issues with existing deployments.