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American vehicle safety authorities have started an examination into Tesla cars equipped with the full self-driving technology due to traffic-safety violations after several collisions.

Regulatory Body Finds Safety Regulation Breaches

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

This initial assessment by the NHTSA represents the initial phase before potentially seeking a recall of the vehicles if the authority concludes they present a danger to road safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The agency stated it had received accounts of 2.88 million Tesla cars driving through red traffic lights and moving in the wrong direction during lane switching while operating the system.

NHTSA confirmed it has six reports in which a Tesla car, operating with FSD engaged, “approached an junction with a red traffic signal, continued to drive into the intersection against the red signal and was subsequently part of a collision with other cars in the intersection”.

The agency reported that four crashes had caused injuries to occupants.

Additional Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has identified 18 complaints and one media report claiming that Tesla cars, driving through an intersection with FSD engaged, “failed to remain stationary for the duration of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or failed to accurately detect and display the correct light status in the car's display”.

Some complainants also stated that FSD “did not provide warnings of the technology's planned behaviour as the car was approaching a red light”.

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

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

In late 2024, the agency started an inquiry into 2.4 million Tesla cars equipped with FSD after four reported collisions in situations of poor visibility, such as sun glare, fog or airborne dust. One such accident, in last year, was deadly.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “designed for operation by a fully attentive motorist, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is ready to assume control at any moment. While these capabilities are engineered to improve over time, the currently enabled features do not render 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.