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

Regulatory Body Identifies Traffic Law Violations

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands motorists to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had “induced car behavior that violated traffic safety laws”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA represents the initial phase before potentially requesting a withdrawal of the vehicles if the authority determines they present a danger to road safety.

Concerning Incident Reports

The agency stated it had documented reports of 2.88 million Tesla vehicles driving through red lights and moving in the wrong direction during lane changes while operating the technology.

NHTSA confirmed it has six reports in which a Tesla vehicle, operating with full self-driving activated, “came to an intersection with a red traffic signal, continued to travel into the crossroads against the red signal and was subsequently part of a collision with other motor vehicles in the intersection”.

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

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 complaints and one news account claiming that Tesla vehicles, driving through an intersection with FSD active, did not stay stationary for the duration of a red light, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and show the correct light status in the car's display”.

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

Continuing Official Examination

Tesla's FSD, which is more sophisticated than its Autopilot system, has been being examined by NHTSA for twelve months.

In late 2024, the authority began an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla cars using FSD after four documented crashes in situations of poor visibility, such as sun glare, mist or airborne dust. One such accident, in 2023, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Stated Position

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 ready to assume control at any time. While these capabilities are engineered to become more capable, the presently active functions do not render the vehicle self-driving.”

Automated car systems continue to face increased scrutiny from safety agencies as the systems develop and practical implementation reveals potential challenges with existing deployments.