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American vehicle safety authorities have opened an investigation into Tesla vehicles 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 electric carmaker's self-driving assistance system, which requires drivers to remain attentive and take control when necessary, had “induced vehicle behaviour that breached road safety regulations”.

This early investigation by the NHTSA represents the first step before possibly seeking a recall of the vehicles if the agency determines they present a danger to public safety.

Concerning Case Findings

The agency reported it had documented accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla cars running red lights and traveling against the wrong way during lane changes while operating the technology.

NHTSA stated it has six reports in which a Tesla vehicle, using full self-driving activated, “approached an intersection with a red light, continued to travel into the intersection against the red signal and was subsequently part of a crash with other motor vehicles in the intersection”.

The agency reported that four accidents had caused injuries to occupants.

Further Issues Identified

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 complaints and one news account claiming that Tesla vehicles, driving through an junction with FSD active, did not stay stopped for the duration of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or failed to accurately detect and display the proper traffic signal state in the car's display”.

Several reporters also claimed that FSD “did not provide warnings of the system's intended behaviour as the vehicle was coming to a red traffic signal”.

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

The full self-driving system, which is more sophisticated than its Autopilot system, has been being examined by NHTSA for twelve months.

In late 2024, the agency started an investigation into over two million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD after four documented crashes in conditions of reduced visibility, such as sun glare, mist or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in last year, was deadly.

Company's Official Stance

Tesla's website states that FSD is “designed for use with a fully attentive motorist, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is ready to assume control at any time. While these features are engineered to improve over time, the presently active features do not render the vehicle autonomous.”

Automated car systems continue to face growing examination from safety agencies as the technology advances and practical implementation reveals potential challenges with current implementations.