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American vehicle safety authorities have opened an examination into Tesla cars featuring the full self-driving technology due to traffic-safety violations after numerous accidents.

Safety Agency Identifies Traffic Law Violations

The federal safety agency announced that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which requires motorists to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had caused vehicle behaviour that violated traffic safety laws”.

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

Alarming Incident Reports

The agency reported it had received accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla cars driving through red traffic lights and traveling in the wrong direction during lane changes while using the system.

NHTSA confirmed it has six documented cases in which a Tesla vehicle, using FSD activated, “approached an intersection with a red traffic signal, continued to travel into the intersection against the red signal and was later involved in a crash with other cars in the junction”.

The authority reported that four crashes had resulted in one or more injuries.

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA stated it has found 18 complaints and one news account claiming that Tesla vehicles, operating at an intersection with FSD engaged, “failed to remain stationary for the duration of a red light, failed to stop fully, 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 system's intended behaviour as the vehicle was approaching a red light”.

Continuing Official Examination

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

In October 2024, the agency started an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla cars using FSD after four reported collisions in situations of poor visibility, such as sun glare, fog or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in last year, was deadly.

Company's Stated Position

Tesla's website states that FSD is “intended for operation by a completely alert motorist, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment. While these features are designed to improve over time, the presently active features do not render the vehicle autonomous.”

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