American Regulators Initiate Investigation into Autonomous Tesla Vehicles After String of Crashes

US automobile safety regulators have commenced an investigation into Tesla cars equipped with the autonomous driving system due to safety regulation breaches following several crashes.

Safety Agency Finds Traffic Law Violations

The federal safety agency declared that the electric carmaker's self-driving assistance system, which requires motorists to stay alert and intervene if needed, had caused vehicle behaviour that violated road safety regulations”.

This early investigation by the NHTSA represents the initial phase before possibly requesting a withdrawal of the cars if the authority concludes they present a danger to road safety.

Alarming Case Findings

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

NHTSA confirmed it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, operating with full self-driving engaged, “came to an junction with a red traffic signal, proceeded to travel into the intersection against the red light and was subsequently part of a crash with other cars in the intersection”.

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

Further Issues Identified

The NHTSA stated it has identified 18 reports and one media report alleging that Tesla vehicles, driving through an intersection with FSD engaged, did not stay stationary for the entire time of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or did not properly recognize and display the correct traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

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

Continuing Official Examination

Tesla's FSD, which is more sophisticated than its basic autopilot feature, has been being examined by NHTSA for twelve months.

In October 2024, the authority started an investigation into over two million Tesla cars using 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 Stated Position

Tesla's website states that FSD is “designed for operation by a completely alert driver, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment. While these features are engineered to become more capable, the presently active features do not make the car autonomous.”

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face growing examination from safety agencies as the technology advances and real-world testing reveals possible issues with current implementations.