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American vehicle safety authorities have started an examination into Tesla vehicles featuring the full self-driving technology due to safety regulation breaches after several crashes.

Safety Agency Finds Safety Regulation Breaches

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that the automaker's self-driving assistance system, which requires motorists to stay alert and intervene if needed, had caused car behavior that breached traffic safety laws”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA represents the initial phase before possibly seeking a recall of the cars if the agency concludes they present a danger to road safety.

Alarming Case Findings

The agency reported it had received accounts of 2.88 million Tesla cars running red lights and moving in the incorrect way during lane switching while operating the technology.

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

The agency reported that four crashes had caused injuries to occupants.

Additional Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has identified 18 complaints and one news account claiming that Tesla cars, driving through an junction with FSD engaged, “failed to remain stationary for the duration of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and show the correct traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

Some complainants also claimed that FSD “failed to give alerts of the technology's planned actions as the vehicle was coming to a red traffic signal”.

Continuing Official Examination

The full self-driving system, which is more sophisticated than its basic autopilot feature, has been being examined by NHTSA for twelve months.

In late 2024, the agency began an inquiry into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles using FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of reduced visibility, such as bright sunlight, mist or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in last year, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “designed for operation by a completely alert motorist, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is prepared to take over at any time. While these capabilities are engineered to improve over time, the currently enabled functions do not render the car self-driving.”

Self-driving car systems continue to face increased scrutiny from safety agencies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals potential challenges with current implementations.