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US automobile safety regulators have opened an examination into Tesla cars featuring the full self-driving technology due to traffic-safety violations after multiple collisions.

Regulatory Body Finds Traffic Law Breaches

The NHTSA announced that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands motorists to remain attentive and take control when necessary, had “induced vehicle behaviour that violated traffic safety laws”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA represents the initial phase before potentially seeking a withdrawal of the vehicles if the authority concludes they pose a risk to public safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The agency reported it had documented reports of 2.88 million Tesla vehicles driving through red traffic lights and traveling in the wrong direction during lane changes while using the technology.

NHTSA confirmed it has six documented cases in which a Tesla vehicle, using full self-driving engaged, “approached an junction with a red light, continued to drive into the intersection against the red light and was later part of a collision with other motor vehicles in the intersection”.

The agency noted that four accidents had resulted in one or more injuries.

Further Issues Identified

The NHTSA announced it has identified 18 complaints and one news account claiming that Tesla cars, driving through an intersection with FSD active, did not stay stationary for the entire time of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or did not properly recognize and show the correct traffic signal state in the car's display”.

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

Ongoing Official Examination

Tesla's FSD, which is more advanced than its Autopilot system, has been being examined by NHTSA for a year.

In late 2024, the authority began an inquiry into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles using FSD after four reported collisions in situations of reduced visibility, such as sun glare, mist or dust clouds. One such accident, in 2023, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

Tesla's website states that FSD is “intended for operation by a fully attentive motorist, 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 currently enabled features do not render the vehicle self-driving.”

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from safety agencies as the systems develop and practical implementation reveals possible issues with existing deployments.