US Regulators Begin Probe into Self-Driving Teslas Following Series of Collisions

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

Regulatory Body Identifies Traffic Law Breaches

The federal safety agency announced that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which requires drivers to remain attentive and take control when necessary, had “induced vehicle behaviour that breached road safety regulations”.

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA represents the first step before potentially requesting a recall of the vehicles if the authority determines they pose a risk to public safety.

Alarming Case Findings

The agency reported it had documented accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla vehicles driving through red lights and moving in the wrong way during lane changes while using the system.

NHTSA confirmed it has six reports in which a Tesla car, operating with full self-driving engaged, “came to an junction with a red light, continued to travel into the intersection against the red light and was later part of a collision with other cars in the intersection”.

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

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA stated it has found 18 complaints and one media report claiming that Tesla vehicles, driving through an junction with FSD engaged, did not stay stopped for the duration of a red light, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect 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 car was approaching a red traffic signal”.

Ongoing 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 October 2024, the agency began an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla cars equipped with FSD after four documented crashes in situations of reduced visibility, such as bright sunlight, mist or dust clouds. One such accident, in 2023, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Stated Position

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “designed for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is ready to take over at any moment. While these capabilities are engineered to improve over time, the currently enabled functions do not make the car autonomous.”

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals possible issues with existing deployments.