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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 following multiple accidents.

Regulatory Body Identifies Safety Regulation Breaches

The NHTSA announced that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands motorists to stay alert and intervene if needed, had caused vehicle behaviour that breached road safety regulations”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA represents the first step before potentially seeking a withdrawal of the cars if the authority determines they pose a risk to road safety.

Alarming Case Findings

The agency stated it had documented reports of nearly 3 million Tesla cars running red traffic lights and traveling in the incorrect direction during lane switching while operating the system.

NHTSA confirmed it has six reports in which a Tesla car, operating with full self-driving activated, “approached an intersection with a red light, continued to drive into the intersection against the red light and was later involved in a crash with other motor vehicles in the intersection”.

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

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA stated it has found 18 complaints and one media report claiming that Tesla cars, driving through an intersection with FSD active, “failed to remain stopped for the duration of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or did not properly recognize and display the correct light status in the vehicle interface”.

Some complainants also stated that FSD “failed to give alerts of the technology's planned behaviour as the car was coming to a red light”.

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

Tesla's FSD, which is more sophisticated than its basic autopilot feature, has been being examined by NHTSA for a year.

In late 2024, the agency began an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles using FSD after four documented crashes in situations of poor visibility, such as sun glare, mist or airborne dust. One such accident, in 2023, was fatal.

Company's Official Stance

Tesla's website states that FSD is “designed for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment. While these capabilities are engineered to become more capable, the currently enabled features do not make the vehicle autonomous.”

Automated vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from safety agencies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals possible issues with current implementations.