American Authorities Begin Probe into Autonomous Teslas Following Series of Crashes

American vehicle safety authorities have commenced an examination into Tesla vehicles equipped with the full self-driving technology due to safety regulation breaches following numerous accidents.

Regulatory Body Identifies Safety Regulation Breaches

The NHTSA declared that the electric carmaker's self-driving assistance system, which requires drivers to stay alert and take control when necessary, had caused vehicle behaviour that violated traffic safety laws”.

This early investigation by the NHTSA marks the initial phase before potentially seeking a withdrawal of the vehicles if the agency concludes they present a danger to public safety.

Alarming Case Findings

The agency reported it had received accounts of 2.88 million Tesla cars driving through red lights and moving against the wrong way during lane switching while operating the system.

NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, operating with FSD activated, “approached an intersection with a red light, proceeded to drive into the crossroads against the red light and was subsequently part of a collision with other motor vehicles in the junction”.

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

Additional Issues Identified

The NHTSA stated it has identified 18 complaints and one media report claiming that Tesla vehicles, driving through an intersection with FSD active, “failed to remain stopped for the entire time of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and display the correct traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

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

Ongoing Official Examination

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

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

Manufacturer's Official Stance

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “designed for use with a completely alert driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is ready to take over at any time. While these capabilities are designed to improve over time, the currently enabled functions do not make the vehicle self-driving.”

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face growing examination from safety agencies as the technology advances and real-world testing reveals potential challenges with existing deployments.