US Regulators Begin Probe into Self-Driving Teslas After String of Crashes

American vehicle safety authorities have opened an investigation into Tesla cars equipped with the autonomous driving system due to safety regulation breaches following several collisions.

Regulatory Body Finds Traffic Law Violations

The NHTSA announced that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands motorists to stay alert and take control when necessary, had caused vehicle behaviour that breached traffic safety laws”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA represents the initial phase before possibly seeking a withdrawal of the vehicles if the authority concludes they present a danger to road safety.

Concerning Case Findings

The agency reported it had documented reports of 2.88 million Tesla vehicles driving through red traffic lights and moving against the wrong way during lane switching while using the system.

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

The agency noted that four crashes had caused one or more injuries.

Additional Issues Identified

The NHTSA announced it has identified 18 reports and one news account claiming that Tesla cars, driving through an junction with FSD active, “failed to remain stopped for the entire time of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or failed to accurately detect and display the correct traffic signal state in the car's display”.

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

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

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

In October 2024, the authority began an investigation into over two million Tesla cars using FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of poor visibility, such as bright sunlight, fog or airborne dust. One of these collisions, in last year, was fatal.

Company's Official Stance

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

Automated car systems continue to face increased scrutiny from safety agencies as the technology advances and real-world testing reveals potential challenges with existing deployments.