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American vehicle safety authorities have opened an examination into Tesla vehicles equipped with the autonomous driving system due to safety regulation breaches following several accidents.

Regulatory Body Finds Safety Regulation Breaches

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration declared that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which requires motorists to remain attentive and take control when necessary, had “induced car behavior that breached road safety regulations”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA represents the first step before possibly seeking a recall of the vehicles if the authority concludes they present a danger to public safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The regulatory body reported it had received accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla cars driving through red traffic lights and moving against the wrong way during lane switching while operating the technology.

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

The agency noted that four accidents had caused one or more injuries.

Additional Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 complaints and one media report alleging that Tesla cars, operating at an intersection with FSD engaged, did not stay stationary for the entire time of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or did not properly recognize and display the proper traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

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

Ongoing Official Examination

The full self-driving system, which is more sophisticated than its basic autopilot feature, has been being examined by NHTSA for twelve months.

In October 2024, the agency started an investigation into over two million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD after four documented crashes in conditions of reduced visibility, such as sun glare, fog or dust clouds. One such accident, in 2023, was deadly.

Manufacturer's Stated Position

Tesla's website states that FSD is “designed for use with a completely alert driver, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is ready to assume control at any moment. While these capabilities are designed to become more capable, the presently active functions do not render the car self-driving.”

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals possible issues with current implementations.