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American vehicle safety authorities have opened an probe into Tesla vehicles equipped with the autonomous driving system due to traffic-safety violations after multiple collisions.

Regulatory Body Finds Safety Regulation Violations

The NHTSA announced that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands motorists to stay alert and intervene if needed, had “induced vehicle behaviour that violated road safety regulations”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA represents the initial phase before potentially seeking a withdrawal of the vehicles if the authority concludes they present a danger to road safety.

Alarming Case Findings

The agency stated it had documented accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla cars running red lights and moving against the incorrect direction during lane changes while operating the system.

NHTSA stated it has six reports in which a Tesla car, operating with FSD activated, “came to an junction with a red light, continued to drive into the crossroads against the red signal and was subsequently involved in a collision with other cars in the intersection”.

The authority noted that four accidents had resulted in one or more injuries.

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 reports and one media report alleging that Tesla vehicles, operating at an junction with FSD engaged, did not stay stopped for the duration of a red light, failed to stop fully, or did not properly recognize and show the proper traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

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

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

The full self-driving system, which is more advanced than its Autopilot system, has been being examined by NHTSA for twelve months.

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

Company's Stated Position

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “intended for operation by a completely alert motorist, 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 features do not render the car self-driving.”

Self-driving car systems continue to face increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies as the technology advances and real-world testing reveals possible issues with existing deployments.