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US automobile safety regulators have opened an investigation into Tesla vehicles featuring the full self-driving technology due to safety regulation breaches following numerous accidents.

Regulatory Body Identifies Traffic Law Breaches

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

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA marks the first step before potentially requesting a withdrawal of the vehicles if the agency concludes they present a danger to road safety.

Concerning Incident Reports

The agency stated it had documented accounts of 2.88 million Tesla cars running red lights and moving against the wrong direction during lane changes while using the system.

NHTSA confirmed it has six reports in which a Tesla vehicle, using FSD activated, “came to an intersection with a red light, continued to drive into the intersection against the red light and was later part of a crash with other cars in the junction”.

The authority reported that four crashes had resulted in one or more injuries.

Additional Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has identified 18 complaints and one media report alleging that Tesla cars, operating at an intersection with FSD active, did not stay stopped for the duration of a red light, did not come to complete stop, or did not properly recognize and display the proper light status in the vehicle interface”.

Some complainants also claimed that FSD “did not provide alerts of the technology's planned actions as the vehicle was approaching a red light”.

Continuing Regulatory Scrutiny

Tesla's FSD, which is more advanced than its basic autopilot feature, has been being examined by NHTSA for twelve months.

In October 2024, the agency began an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles using FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of poor visibility, such as bright sunlight, fog or airborne dust. One of these collisions, in 2023, was fatal.

Company's Stated Position

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

Automated car systems continue to face increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals possible issues with existing deployments.