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American vehicle safety authorities have commenced an investigation into Tesla cars equipped with the autonomous driving system due to safety regulation breaches after several accidents.

Safety Agency Finds Traffic Law Breaches

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration declared that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands drivers to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had caused vehicle behaviour that breached road safety regulations”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA represents the initial phase before potentially requesting a recall of the vehicles if the agency determines they present a danger to public safety.

Concerning Incident Reports

The agency reported it had documented accounts of 2.88 million Tesla cars running red lights and traveling in the wrong direction during lane switching while using the system.

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

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

Additional Safety Concerns

The NHTSA stated it has found 18 complaints and one media report alleging that Tesla vehicles, operating at an intersection with FSD engaged, “failed to remain stopped for the duration of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or failed to accurately detect and display the proper light status in the vehicle interface”.

Some complainants also claimed that FSD “did not provide warnings of the system's intended behaviour as the car 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 being examined by NHTSA for a year.

In October 2024, the authority started an investigation into over two million Tesla cars equipped with FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of reduced visibility, such as bright sunlight, mist or airborne dust. One of these collisions, in last year, was deadly.

Company's Official Stance

Tesla's website states that FSD is “intended for use with a completely alert driver, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is prepared to assume control at any moment. While these features are designed to improve over time, the presently active functions do not render the car autonomous.”

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face growing examination from regulatory bodies as the technology advances and real-world testing reveals possible issues with existing deployments.