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

Regulatory Body Finds Safety Regulation Violations

The federal safety agency declared that the electric carmaker's self-driving assistance system, which demands motorists to stay alert and intervene if needed, had “induced vehicle behaviour that breached traffic safety laws”.

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

Concerning Incident Reports

The agency stated it had documented accounts of 2.88 million Tesla vehicles driving through red traffic lights and traveling against the wrong way during lane switching while operating the technology.

NHTSA stated it has six reports in which a Tesla car, using FSD engaged, “came to an junction with a red light, continued to travel into the intersection against the red light and was later part of a collision with other motor vehicles in the intersection”.

The authority noted that four accidents had caused injuries to occupants.

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 complaints and one media report claiming that Tesla vehicles, operating at an intersection with FSD active, did not stay stopped for the entire time of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or failed to accurately detect and show the proper light status in the vehicle interface”.

Some complainants also stated that FSD “did not provide alerts of the system's planned behaviour as the vehicle was coming to a red traffic signal”.

Continuing Official Examination

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

In late 2024, the authority started an inquiry into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles using FSD after four reported collisions in situations of reduced visibility, such as sun glare, mist or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in last year, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Stated Position

Tesla's website states that FSD is “designed for use with a completely alert driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is ready to assume control at any time. While these capabilities are engineered to improve over time, the currently enabled functions do not render the car self-driving.”

Self-driving car systems continue to face growing examination from regulatory bodies as the technology advances and practical implementation reveals potential challenges with existing deployments.