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American vehicle safety authorities have started an examination into Tesla cars equipped with the autonomous driving system due to safety regulation breaches following numerous collisions.

Regulatory Body Finds Traffic Law Breaches

The NHTSA stated 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 marks the initial phase before potentially seeking a recall of the cars if the authority concludes they pose a risk to public safety.

Concerning Incident Reports

The regulatory body stated it had received reports of nearly 3 million Tesla vehicles driving through red lights and traveling against the wrong way during lane changes while operating the system.

NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, using full self-driving engaged, “approached an intersection with a red light, continued to travel into the crossroads despite the red light and was subsequently part of a crash with other motor vehicles in the intersection”.

The authority reported that four accidents had caused injuries to occupants.

Additional Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has identified 18 complaints and one media report claiming that Tesla cars, operating at an intersection with FSD engaged, “failed to remain stopped for the duration of a red light, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and display the correct traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

Some complainants also stated that FSD “failed to give warnings of the technology's intended behaviour as the car was coming to a red light”.

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

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

In late 2024, the agency began an inquiry into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD after four reported collisions in situations of poor visibility, such as bright sunlight, fog or airborne dust. One of these collisions, in last year, was deadly.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “designed 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 designed to become more capable, the currently enabled features do not render the car self-driving.”

Automated vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies as the systems develop and practical implementation reveals possible issues with current implementations.