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American vehicle safety authorities have commenced an investigation into Tesla cars equipped with the full self-driving technology due to traffic-safety violations following several accidents.

Safety Agency Finds Safety Regulation Breaches

The NHTSA declared that the automaker's self-driving assistance system, which demands motorists to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had caused car behavior that violated traffic safety laws”.

This early investigation by the NHTSA marks the first step before possibly seeking a withdrawal of the vehicles if the agency determines they pose a risk to road safety.

Concerning Case Findings

The regulatory body reported it had documented accounts of 2.88 million Tesla cars driving through red traffic lights and moving in the wrong way during lane changes while using the technology.

NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla vehicle, operating with full self-driving engaged, “approached an junction with a red light, continued to drive into the intersection despite the red light and was subsequently part of a collision with other motor vehicles in the junction”.

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

Additional Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 complaints and one media report claiming that Tesla cars, operating at an intersection with FSD engaged, “failed to remain stopped for the entire time of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or did not properly recognize and display the correct light status in the vehicle interface”.

Some complainants also claimed that FSD “did not provide alerts of the system's planned behaviour as the car was coming to a red light”.

Ongoing Official Examination

Tesla's FSD, which is more sophisticated than its Autopilot system, has been under investigation by NHTSA for a year.

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

Company's Official Stance

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “intended for operation by a fully attentive motorist, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment. While these features are engineered to improve over time, the presently active functions do not render the vehicle autonomous.”

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals possible issues with current implementations.