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American vehicle safety authorities have started an probe into Tesla cars featuring the autonomous driving system due to safety regulation breaches following numerous crashes.

Safety Agency Finds Traffic Law Violations

The NHTSA stated that the electric carmaker's self-driving assistance system, which requires motorists to stay alert and intervene if needed, had “induced vehicle behaviour that violated road safety regulations”.

This early investigation by the NHTSA marks the initial phase before possibly requesting a withdrawal of the cars if the agency concludes they pose a risk to road safety.

Alarming Case Findings

The agency reported it had documented accounts of 2.88 million Tesla cars running red traffic lights and moving in the incorrect way during lane changes while using the technology.

NHTSA stated it has six reports in which a Tesla car, operating with full self-driving engaged, “approached an junction with a red traffic signal, continued to travel into the intersection despite the red signal and was subsequently involved in a collision with other cars in the junction”.

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

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 reports and one news account claiming that Tesla cars, operating at an intersection with FSD active, “failed to remain stationary for the entire time of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and show the proper traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

Some complainants also claimed that FSD “did not provide warnings of the technology's intended behaviour as the car was coming to a red traffic signal”.

Ongoing Official Examination

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

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

Company's Official Stance

Tesla's website states that FSD is “intended for operation by a completely alert driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is ready to take over at any time. While these capabilities are engineered to become more capable, the currently enabled functions do not make the car self-driving.”

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.