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American vehicle safety authorities have opened an investigation into Tesla vehicles equipped with the autonomous driving system due to traffic-safety violations following several accidents.

Regulatory Body Identifies Safety Regulation Breaches

The federal safety agency stated that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands motorists to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had caused vehicle behaviour that violated road safety regulations”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA represents the first step before potentially requesting a withdrawal of the cars if the authority concludes they pose a risk to public safety.

Concerning Incident Reports

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

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

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

Further Issues Identified

The NHTSA stated it has identified 18 complaints and one news account alleging that Tesla vehicles, driving through an junction with FSD active, “failed to remain stationary for the entire time of a red light, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and show the correct light status in the car's display”.

Several reporters also stated that FSD “did not provide alerts of the technology's planned behaviour as the vehicle was coming to a red light”.

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

The full self-driving system, which is more sophisticated than its basic autopilot feature, has been under investigation by NHTSA for a year.

In late 2024, the agency began an inquiry into over two million Tesla vehicles using FSD after four reported collisions in situations of reduced visibility, such as sun glare, mist or dust clouds. One such accident, in last year, was deadly.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “designed for operation by a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment. While these features are engineered to become more capable, the currently enabled functions do not render the car self-driving.”

Automated vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from safety agencies as the technology advances and real-world testing reveals possible issues with existing deployments.