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US automobile safety regulators have opened an investigation into Tesla cars featuring the full self-driving technology due to traffic-safety violations following multiple accidents.

Safety Agency Identifies Traffic Law Violations

The NHTSA stated that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which requires motorists to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had caused vehicle behaviour that violated road safety regulations”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA marks the first step before possibly requesting a withdrawal of the cars if the authority concludes they pose a risk to road safety.

Concerning Incident Reports

The regulatory body stated it had received accounts of 2.88 million Tesla vehicles running red lights and moving against the wrong way during lane changes while operating the system.

NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, operating with FSD activated, “came to an junction with a red light, continued to travel into the crossroads against the red signal and was later part of a collision with other motor vehicles in the junction”.

The agency reported that four crashes had caused one or more injuries.

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 reports and one news account claiming that Tesla cars, driving through an intersection with FSD active, did not stay stopped for the entire time of a red light, did not come to complete stop, or did not properly recognize and show the proper light status in the vehicle interface”.

Some complainants also stated that FSD “did not provide alerts of the technology's intended behaviour as the car was approaching a red traffic signal”.

Continuing Regulatory Scrutiny

Tesla's FSD, which is more advanced than its Autopilot system, has been under investigation by NHTSA for a year.

In October 2024, the agency started an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD after four documented crashes in situations of reduced visibility, such as bright sunlight, fog or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in last year, was deadly.

Company's Stated Position

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

Self-driving car systems continue to face growing examination from regulatory bodies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals possible issues with current implementations.