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American vehicle safety authorities have opened an investigation into Tesla cars featuring the autonomous driving system due to traffic-safety violations following numerous accidents.

Regulatory Body Finds Safety Regulation Breaches

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which requires motorists to remain attentive and take control when necessary, had “induced car behavior that breached road safety regulations”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA marks the first step before possibly requesting a recall of the vehicles if the agency concludes they pose a risk to public safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The regulatory body stated it had documented accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla cars driving through red lights and traveling in the wrong direction during lane changes while using the technology.

NHTSA confirmed it has six reports in which a Tesla car, operating with full self-driving activated, “came to an junction with a red light, proceeded to drive into the crossroads against the red light and was subsequently part of a crash with other motor vehicles 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 vehicles, driving through an intersection with FSD engaged, did not stay stationary for the duration of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or failed to accurately detect and show the correct traffic signal state in the car's display”.

Some complainants also stated that FSD “failed to give alerts of the system's intended actions as the vehicle was coming to a red traffic signal”.

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

Tesla's FSD, which is more sophisticated than its basic autopilot feature, has been under investigation by NHTSA for twelve months.

In October 2024, the agency started an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD after four reported collisions in situations of reduced visibility, such as bright sunlight, mist or airborne dust. One such accident, in last year, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Stated Position

Tesla's website states that FSD is “designed for operation by a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is ready to take over at any moment. While these capabilities are engineered to become more capable, the currently enabled features do not make the car self-driving.”

Self-driving car systems continue to face growing examination from regulatory bodies as the technology advances and practical implementation reveals potential challenges with current implementations.