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American vehicle safety authorities have opened an probe into Tesla cars equipped with the full self-driving technology due to traffic-safety violations after several crashes.

Regulatory Body Identifies Safety Regulation Breaches

The NHTSA stated that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands drivers to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had “induced car behavior that violated road safety regulations”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA marks the first step before possibly requesting a withdrawal of the cars if the authority determines they pose a risk to public safety.

Alarming Case Findings

The regulatory body stated it had documented accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla vehicles driving through red lights and traveling in the incorrect direction during lane changes while operating the technology.

NHTSA confirmed it has six documented cases in which a Tesla vehicle, operating with full self-driving engaged, “came to an junction with a red traffic signal, continued to drive into the crossroads against the red light and was later involved in a collision with other cars in the junction”.

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

Additional Issues Identified

The NHTSA announced it has identified 18 reports and one news account claiming that Tesla vehicles, operating at an junction with FSD active, “failed to remain stationary 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 car's display”.

Several reporters also stated that FSD “failed to give alerts of the system's planned behaviour as the car was coming to a red traffic signal”.

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

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

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

Manufacturer's Official Stance

Tesla's website states that FSD is “designed for use with a completely alert driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is ready to assume control at any moment. While these features are engineered to improve over time, the presently active functions do not render the car self-driving.”

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