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

Regulatory Body Finds Traffic Law Breaches

The federal safety agency declared that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands motorists to stay alert and intervene if needed, had “induced car behavior that violated road safety regulations”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA marks the first step before possibly requesting a recall of the cars if the agency determines they present a danger to road safety.

Concerning Incident Reports

The regulatory body stated it had documented reports of 2.88 million Tesla vehicles running red traffic lights and moving in the incorrect way during lane switching while operating the technology.

NHTSA confirmed it has six reports in which a Tesla car, operating with FSD engaged, “approached an junction with a red traffic signal, continued to drive into the crossroads against the red signal and was later involved in a crash with other cars in the junction”.

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

Additional Safety Concerns

The NHTSA stated it has found 18 complaints and one news account claiming that Tesla cars, driving through an junction with FSD active, did not stay stopped for the duration of a red light, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and display the proper light status in the vehicle interface”.

Several reporters also stated that FSD “failed to give warnings of the technology's planned actions as the vehicle was coming to a red traffic signal”.

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

Tesla's FSD, which is more advanced than its Autopilot system, has been under investigation by NHTSA for twelve months.

In late 2024, the agency began an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles using FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of poor visibility, such as sun glare, mist or airborne dust. One of these collisions, in 2023, was deadly.

Company's Official Stance

Tesla's website states that FSD is “designed for operation by a completely alert driver, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is ready to take over at any moment. While these features are engineered to become more capable, the currently enabled functions do not render the vehicle autonomous.”

Self-driving car systems continue to face growing examination from regulatory bodies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals potential challenges with existing deployments.