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American vehicle safety authorities have commenced an probe into Tesla vehicles featuring the full self-driving technology due to safety regulation breaches following multiple crashes.

Safety Agency Identifies Traffic Law Breaches

The NHTSA announced that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which requires motorists to remain attentive and take control when necessary, had “induced car behavior that breached traffic safety laws”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA represents the first step before potentially requesting a withdrawal of the vehicles if the agency determines they present a danger to public safety.

Alarming Case Findings

The agency stated it had received accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla cars driving through red lights and moving against the incorrect way during lane switching while operating the system.

NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, using full self-driving activated, “approached an junction with a red light, continued to drive into the crossroads against the red signal and was later involved in a collision with other cars in the junction”.

The authority noted that four crashes had caused one or more injuries.

Additional Issues Identified

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 complaints and one news account alleging that Tesla cars, driving through an junction with FSD active, did not stay stopped for the entire time of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or did not properly recognize and display the proper traffic signal state in the car's display”.

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

Ongoing Official Examination

The full self-driving system, which is more advanced than its Autopilot system, has been under investigation by NHTSA for twelve months.

In October 2024, the authority started an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of poor visibility, such as sun glare, fog or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in last year, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

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

Automated car systems continue to face growing examination from safety agencies as the systems develop and practical implementation reveals potential challenges with current implementations.