American Authorities Initiate Inquiry into Autonomous Teslas Following Series of Collisions

American vehicle safety authorities have opened an probe into Tesla vehicles featuring the full self-driving technology due to safety regulation breaches after numerous collisions.

Regulatory Body Identifies Traffic Law Breaches

The NHTSA announced that the electric carmaker's self-driving assistance system, which demands motorists to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had “induced car behavior that breached traffic safety laws”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA marks the initial phase before potentially requesting a recall of the cars if the agency concludes they present a danger to road safety.

Concerning Case Findings

The agency reported it had documented reports of 2.88 million Tesla vehicles running red traffic lights and traveling against the wrong direction during lane changes while operating the technology.

NHTSA stated it has six reports in which a Tesla vehicle, operating with FSD engaged, “approached an junction with a red light, continued to travel into the crossroads against the red signal and was later involved in a crash with other cars in the intersection”.

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

Additional Issues Identified

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 complaints and one news account claiming that Tesla vehicles, operating at an junction with FSD engaged, “failed to remain stationary for the entire time of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or did not properly recognize and display the proper traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

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

Continuing Official Examination

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

In October 2024, the authority started an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla cars equipped with FSD after four documented crashes in conditions of poor visibility, such as bright sunlight, mist or airborne dust. One such accident, in 2023, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

Tesla's website states that FSD is “designed for operation by a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is ready to assume control at any moment. While these capabilities are engineered to become more capable, the presently active features do not render the vehicle autonomous.”

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies as the technology advances and practical implementation reveals possible issues with existing deployments.