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American vehicle safety authorities have opened an investigation into Tesla vehicles featuring the autonomous driving system due to safety regulation breaches following multiple accidents.

Safety Agency Finds Safety Regulation Breaches

The federal safety agency declared that the automaker's self-driving assistance system, which demands motorists to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had caused car behavior that violated traffic safety laws”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA represents the initial phase before possibly requesting a withdrawal of the vehicles if the authority determines they pose a risk to public safety.

Concerning Case Findings

The agency reported it had documented reports of nearly 3 million Tesla cars running red traffic lights and moving against the incorrect way during lane changes while operating the technology.

NHTSA confirmed it has six documented cases in which a Tesla vehicle, operating with FSD activated, “came to an junction with a red light, continued to drive into the intersection against the red signal and was subsequently involved in a collision with other cars in the intersection”.

The agency noted that four accidents had resulted in injuries to occupants.

Further Issues Identified

The NHTSA stated it has identified 18 reports and one media report claiming that Tesla cars, operating at an intersection with FSD engaged, did not stay stopped for the entire time of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and display the proper light status in the vehicle interface”.

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

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

The full self-driving system, which is more advanced 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 cars equipped with FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of poor visibility, such as sun glare, fog or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in 2023, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Stated Position

Tesla's website states that FSD is “intended for operation by a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is prepared to assume control at any time. While these features are designed to become more capable, the presently active features do not make the vehicle self-driving.”

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face growing examination from safety agencies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals possible issues with existing deployments.