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American vehicle safety authorities have started an examination into Tesla vehicles equipped with the autonomous driving system due to traffic-safety violations following numerous crashes.

Safety Agency Finds Traffic Law Breaches

The federal safety agency declared that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands motorists to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had “induced car behavior that breached road safety regulations”.

This early investigation by the NHTSA marks the first step before potentially seeking a withdrawal of the vehicles if the agency concludes they present a danger to public safety.

Concerning Incident Reports

The regulatory body stated it had documented accounts of 2.88 million Tesla cars driving through red traffic lights and moving in the wrong direction during lane changes while using the technology.

NHTSA confirmed it has six reports in which a Tesla vehicle, operating with FSD activated, “came to an intersection with a red light, continued to drive into the crossroads despite the red light and was later part of a collision with other cars in the intersection”.

The authority noted that four crashes had resulted in injuries to occupants.

Additional Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has identified 18 complaints and one news account claiming that Tesla cars, driving through an intersection with FSD active, “failed to remain stopped for the entire time of a red light, failed to stop fully, or did not properly recognize and show the correct traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

Several reporters also claimed that FSD “did not provide alerts of the technology's planned behaviour as the vehicle was approaching a red light”.

Continuing Regulatory Scrutiny

Tesla's FSD, which is more advanced than its Autopilot system, has been being examined by NHTSA for twelve months.

In October 2024, the agency began an inquiry into over two million Tesla cars equipped with FSD after four documented crashes in situations of reduced visibility, such as sun glare, mist or airborne dust. One such accident, in 2023, was fatal.

Company's Stated Position

Tesla's website states that FSD is “designed for use with a fully attentive motorist, who has their hands on the wheel and is ready to assume control at any moment. While these features are designed to improve over time, the currently enabled functions do not make the vehicle autonomous.”

Automated car systems continue to face increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals possible issues with current implementations.