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American vehicle safety authorities have started an probe into Tesla cars featuring the full self-driving technology due to safety regulation breaches after numerous collisions.

Regulatory Body Identifies Traffic Law Breaches

The federal safety agency announced that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands motorists to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had caused car behavior that breached traffic safety laws”.

This early investigation by the NHTSA represents the initial phase before possibly seeking a withdrawal of the vehicles if the agency concludes they present a danger to public safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The agency stated it had documented accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla vehicles driving through red traffic lights and moving against the wrong way during lane changes while using the system.

NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla vehicle, using full self-driving engaged, “came to an intersection with a red light, continued to drive into the intersection despite the red light and was later part of a crash with other cars in the intersection”.

The authority reported that four accidents had caused one or more injuries.

Additional Issues Identified

The NHTSA stated it has found 18 complaints and one news account claiming that Tesla cars, driving through an intersection with FSD engaged, did not stay stopped for the entire time of a red light, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and display the proper traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

Some complainants also claimed that FSD “failed to give warnings of the system's planned actions as the vehicle was coming to a red light”.

Continuing Official Examination

The full self-driving system, which is more sophisticated than its Autopilot system, has been under investigation by NHTSA for a year.

In October 2024, the authority began an investigation into over two million Tesla cars equipped with FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of poor visibility, such as sun glare, fog or airborne dust. One such accident, in 2023, was deadly.

Company's Official Stance

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “intended for use with a fully attentive motorist, who has their hands on the wheel and is ready to take over at any moment. While these capabilities are designed to improve over time, the presently active features do not render the vehicle autonomous.”

Self-driving car systems continue to face growing examination from regulatory bodies as the technology advances and real-world testing reveals possible issues with existing deployments.