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American vehicle safety authorities have commenced an investigation into Tesla cars featuring the full self-driving technology due to safety regulation breaches after numerous crashes.

Regulatory Body Finds Traffic Law Breaches

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stated that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands drivers to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had caused car behavior that violated road safety regulations”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA represents the initial phase before potentially requesting a recall of the vehicles if the authority determines they pose a risk to road safety.

Concerning Incident Reports

The regulatory body stated it had documented reports of nearly 3 million Tesla vehicles running red lights and traveling in the wrong direction during lane switching while operating the system.

NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, using full self-driving engaged, “came to an intersection with a red light, proceeded to travel into the crossroads against the red signal and was subsequently part of a collision with other cars in the intersection”.

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

Additional Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has identified 18 complaints and one news account claiming that Tesla cars, operating at an junction with FSD active, did not stay stopped for the duration 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 alerts of the technology's planned actions as the car was coming to a red traffic signal”.

Continuing Regulatory Scrutiny

The full self-driving system, which is more advanced than its Autopilot system, has been under investigation by NHTSA for twelve months.

In late 2024, the authority began an inquiry into over two million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of poor visibility, such as sun glare, mist or airborne dust. One of these collisions, in last year, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Stated Position

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “intended for operation by a completely alert motorist, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to assume control at any moment. While these capabilities are designed to improve over time, the presently active functions do not make the car self-driving.”

Automated car systems continue to face growing examination from safety agencies as the technology advances and practical implementation reveals possible issues with existing deployments.