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American vehicle safety authorities have started an probe into Tesla vehicles equipped with the full self-driving technology due to safety regulation breaches after multiple crashes.

Regulatory Body Identifies Traffic Law Breaches

The federal safety agency declared that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which requires motorists to remain attentive and take control when necessary, had caused vehicle behaviour that breached road safety regulations”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA represents the first step before potentially seeking a withdrawal of the cars if the agency determines they pose a risk to road safety.

Alarming Case Findings

The agency reported it had documented reports of nearly 3 million Tesla vehicles running red traffic lights and moving against the wrong direction during lane changes while using the system.

NHTSA stated it has six reports in which a Tesla car, using full self-driving activated, “approached an intersection with a red traffic signal, continued to travel into the crossroads against the red signal and was subsequently part of a crash with other cars in the intersection”.

The authority noted that four accidents had resulted in injuries to occupants.

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA stated it has found 18 complaints and one media report claiming that Tesla vehicles, driving through an junction with FSD active, did not stay stopped for the duration of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or did not properly recognize and display the proper light status in the car's display”.

Some complainants also stated that FSD “failed to give warnings of the system's planned behaviour as the car was approaching a red traffic signal”.

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

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

In October 2024, the authority started an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of poor visibility, such as sun glare, fog or airborne dust. One such accident, in last year, was fatal.

Company's Official Stance

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “designed for use with a completely alert motorist, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is ready to take over at any time. While these features are designed to become more capable, the currently enabled features do not make the car autonomous.”

Self-driving car systems continue to face increased scrutiny from safety agencies as the technology advances and practical implementation reveals possible issues with current implementations.