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American vehicle safety authorities have started an investigation into Tesla cars equipped with the full self-driving technology due to traffic-safety violations following numerous accidents.

Safety Agency Finds Traffic Law Violations

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which requires motorists to remain attentive and take control when necessary, had “induced vehicle behaviour that breached traffic safety laws”.

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

Concerning Incident Reports

The agency stated it had documented reports of 2.88 million Tesla vehicles driving through red lights and moving against the wrong direction during lane switching while using the technology.

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

The agency noted that four accidents had resulted in injuries to occupants.

Further Issues Identified

The NHTSA stated it has found 18 reports and one media report claiming that Tesla cars, operating at an intersection with FSD engaged, “failed to remain stopped for the duration of a red light, failed to stop fully, or did not properly recognize and show the correct light status in the car's display”.

Several reporters also stated that FSD “did not provide warnings of the technology's planned behaviour as the vehicle was coming to a red light”.

Continuing Official Examination

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

In October 2024, the agency began an inquiry into over two million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD after four reported collisions in situations of poor visibility, such as sun glare, fog or airborne dust. One of these collisions, in last year, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

Tesla's website states that FSD is “designed for operation by a fully attentive motorist, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is ready to assume control at any moment. While these features are engineered to become more capable, the currently enabled functions do not make the vehicle autonomous.”

Automated car systems continue to face growing examination from regulatory bodies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals possible issues with current implementations.