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American vehicle safety authorities have opened an probe into Tesla cars equipped with the autonomous driving system due to safety regulation breaches after numerous accidents.

Regulatory Body Identifies Traffic Law Violations

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stated that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which requires motorists to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had “induced vehicle behaviour that breached road safety regulations”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA marks the initial phase before possibly requesting a withdrawal of the vehicles if the agency concludes they pose a risk to road safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The regulatory body stated it had documented reports of 2.88 million Tesla cars driving through red traffic lights and moving against the incorrect direction during lane changes while operating the system.

NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, using full self-driving engaged, “approached an intersection with a red light, proceeded to travel into the intersection despite the red light and was later part of a crash with other cars in the intersection”.

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

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA stated it has identified 18 complaints and one news account alleging that Tesla vehicles, operating at an intersection with FSD active, did not stay stationary for the entire time of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or did not properly recognize and show the proper traffic signal state in the car's display”.

Some complainants also claimed that FSD “did not provide warnings of the technology's planned behaviour as the vehicle was approaching a red traffic signal”.

Continuing Regulatory Scrutiny

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

In October 2024, the agency began an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla cars using FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of poor visibility, such as bright sunlight, fog or airborne dust. One of these collisions, in last year, was deadly.

Company'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 steering wheel and is ready to assume control at any moment. While these features are engineered 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 real-world testing reveals possible issues with existing deployments.