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American vehicle safety authorities have opened an examination into Tesla cars featuring the autonomous driving system due to safety regulation breaches after numerous collisions.

Regulatory Body Identifies Safety Regulation Violations

The federal safety agency declared that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands motorists to stay alert and intervene if needed, had caused car behavior that breached road safety regulations”.

This early investigation by the NHTSA marks the first step before possibly requesting a withdrawal of the cars if the agency determines they pose a risk to road safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The agency reported it had documented accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla vehicles running red traffic lights and moving against the wrong direction during lane changes while using the system.

NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, using FSD engaged, “approached an intersection with a red light, continued to drive into the intersection despite the red signal and was subsequently involved in a crash with other cars in the intersection”.

The agency noted that four crashes had resulted in one or more injuries.

Further Issues Identified

The NHTSA stated it has found 18 reports and one media report alleging that Tesla cars, operating at an junction with FSD active, “failed to remain stationary for the duration of a red light, did not come to complete stop, or failed to accurately detect and display the correct traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

Several reporters also claimed that FSD “did not provide warnings of the system's planned behaviour as the car was coming to a red light”.

Continuing Official Examination

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

In late 2024, the authority started an inquiry into over two million Tesla cars equipped with FSD after four documented crashes in conditions of reduced visibility, such as sun glare, mist or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in last year, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “intended for use with a fully attentive motorist, who has their hands on the wheel and is ready to take over at any time. While these features are designed to become more capable, the currently enabled functions do not render the vehicle autonomous.”

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from safety agencies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals potential challenges with existing deployments.