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American vehicle safety authorities have started an examination into Tesla vehicles equipped with the full self-driving technology due to safety regulation breaches after several accidents.

Regulatory Body Identifies Safety Regulation Violations

The NHTSA announced that the automaker's self-driving assistance system, which demands drivers to stay alert and intervene if needed, had “induced vehicle behaviour that violated traffic safety laws”.

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

Alarming Incident Reports

The agency reported it had documented accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla vehicles running red lights and traveling against the incorrect way during lane changes while operating the technology.

NHTSA confirmed it has six reports in which a Tesla car, using full self-driving activated, “approached an junction with a red traffic signal, continued to travel into the crossroads despite the red signal and was later involved in a crash with other cars in the junction”.

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

Additional Safety Concerns

The NHTSA stated it has found 18 reports and one news account claiming that Tesla cars, driving through an junction with FSD active, “failed to remain stopped for the duration of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or did not properly recognize and display the correct light status in the car's display”.

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

Continuing Regulatory Scrutiny

Tesla's FSD, which is more sophisticated than its basic autopilot feature, has been under investigation by NHTSA for a year.

In late 2024, the agency began an investigation into over two million Tesla cars equipped with FSD after four documented crashes in conditions of poor visibility, such as bright sunlight, fog or dust clouds. One such accident, in 2023, was deadly.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

Tesla's website states that FSD is “intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the 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 growing examination from regulatory bodies as the technology advances and real-world testing reveals possible issues with existing deployments.