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

Regulatory Body Finds Traffic Law Violations

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration declared that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which requires motorists to stay alert and intervene if needed, had caused car behavior that violated traffic safety laws”.

This early investigation by the NHTSA marks the first step before possibly seeking a withdrawal of the vehicles if the agency concludes they pose a risk to public safety.

Alarming Case Findings

The agency stated it had documented reports of nearly 3 million Tesla cars driving through red lights and moving against the wrong direction during lane changes while using the system.

NHTSA confirmed it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, operating with full self-driving engaged, “approached an junction with a red light, proceeded to travel into the intersection against the red signal and was later involved in a crash with other motor vehicles in the junction”.

The authority reported that four accidents had caused one or more injuries.

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 reports and one media report claiming that Tesla cars, driving through an junction with FSD engaged, “failed to remain stopped for the entire time of a red light, did not come to complete stop, or failed to accurately detect and show the correct traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

Some complainants also stated that FSD “failed to give warnings of the system's planned behaviour as the car was approaching 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 October 2024, the authority started an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla cars using FSD after four documented crashes in conditions of poor visibility, such as sun glare, mist or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in 2023, was deadly.

Company's Official Stance

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “intended for use with a completely alert motorist, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any time. While these features are engineered to become more capable, the presently active features 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 existing deployments.