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US automobile safety regulators have commenced an investigation into Tesla cars featuring the autonomous driving system due to safety regulation breaches after several collisions.

Regulatory Body Finds Safety Regulation Breaches

The federal safety agency stated that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which requires 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 first step before possibly requesting a recall of the cars if the authority concludes they pose a risk to road safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The agency reported it had received reports of nearly 3 million Tesla cars driving through red lights and moving against the wrong way during lane changes while using the technology.

NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla vehicle, using full self-driving engaged, “approached an intersection with a red light, continued to travel into the crossroads against the red light and was later part of a crash with other cars in the junction”.

The agency noted that four crashes had caused one or more injuries.

Further Issues Identified

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

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

Continuing Regulatory Scrutiny

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

In late 2024, the agency began an inquiry into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD after four documented crashes in situations of poor visibility, such as sun glare, fog or airborne dust. One of these collisions, in 2023, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

Tesla's website states that FSD is “designed for operation by a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is ready to take over at any time. While these capabilities are designed to improve over time, the presently active functions do not make the car self-driving.”

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