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

Safety Agency Identifies Safety Regulation Breaches

The NHTSA announced that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which requires motorists to stay alert and take control when necessary, had caused car behavior that breached road safety regulations”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA marks the initial phase before potentially seeking a withdrawal of the cars if the authority concludes they present a danger to road safety.

Concerning Incident Reports

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

NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, using FSD engaged, “approached an intersection with a red light, continued to drive into the intersection despite the red light and was subsequently involved in a crash with other motor vehicles in the intersection”.

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

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has identified 18 complaints and one media report alleging that Tesla cars, operating at an intersection with FSD engaged, did not stay stationary for the duration of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and show the proper traffic signal state in the car's display”.

Some complainants also claimed that FSD “failed to give warnings of the system's planned actions as the car was approaching a red traffic signal”.

Ongoing Official Examination

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

In October 2024, the agency began an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla cars 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.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “intended for operation by a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment. While these features are designed to become more capable, the currently enabled features do not make the vehicle autonomous.”

Automated car systems continue to face increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies as the technology advances and practical implementation reveals possible issues with existing deployments.