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

Regulatory Body Finds Traffic Law Breaches

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration declared that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands drivers to stay alert and intervene if needed, had caused vehicle behaviour that breached road safety regulations”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA marks the first step before potentially requesting a withdrawal of the vehicles if the agency determines they pose a risk to public safety.

Concerning Case Findings

The regulatory body stated it had received reports of 2.88 million Tesla cars running red lights and moving in the wrong direction during lane changes while operating the system.

NHTSA confirmed it has six documented cases in which a Tesla vehicle, operating with full self-driving activated, “approached an junction with a red light, proceeded to drive into the crossroads despite the red signal and was subsequently part of a crash with other cars in the junction”.

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

Additional Issues Identified

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 reports and one media report claiming that Tesla cars, driving through an junction with FSD engaged, “failed to remain stationary for the entire time of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and display the proper traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

Several reporters also claimed that FSD “did not provide alerts of the technology's intended actions as the vehicle was coming to a red traffic signal”.

Continuing Official Examination

Tesla's FSD, which is more sophisticated than its Autopilot system, has been being examined by NHTSA for a year.

In October 2024, the agency began an investigation into over two million Tesla cars using FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of reduced visibility, such as sun glare, fog or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in last year, was deadly.

Company's Official Stance

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “intended for use with a completely alert driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to assume control at any moment. While these capabilities are engineered to improve over time, the presently active functions do not make the vehicle self-driving.”

Self-driving car systems continue to face increased scrutiny from safety agencies as the technology advances and practical implementation reveals potential challenges with current implementations.