American Authorities Begin Investigation into Autonomous Teslas After Series of Accidents

US automobile safety regulators have opened an examination into Tesla vehicles featuring the autonomous driving system due to safety regulation breaches following several accidents.

Safety Agency Identifies Safety Regulation Breaches

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

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA marks the initial phase before potentially seeking a withdrawal of the cars if the agency concludes they present a danger to public safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The regulatory body reported it had received accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla cars running red lights and moving against the wrong way during lane changes while using the technology.

NHTSA confirmed it has six documented cases in which a Tesla vehicle, operating with FSD activated, “approached an intersection with a red light, continued to drive into the intersection despite the red signal and was later part of a crash with other motor vehicles in the junction”.

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

Further Issues Identified

The NHTSA stated it has found 18 reports and one news account alleging that Tesla cars, operating at an intersection with FSD active, did not stay stationary for the duration of a red light, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and display the proper traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

Some complainants also claimed that FSD “did not provide warnings of the technology's planned behaviour as the car was coming to a red traffic signal”.

Ongoing Official Examination

The full self-driving system, which is more advanced than its Autopilot system, has been being examined by NHTSA for twelve months.

In October 2024, the agency began an inquiry into over two million Tesla cars using FSD after four documented crashes in situations of poor visibility, such as sun glare, mist or dust clouds. One such accident, in last year, was deadly.

Company's Stated Position

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “designed for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is ready to assume control at any time. While these capabilities are engineered to improve over time, the currently enabled features do not make the car autonomous.”

Self-driving car systems continue to face growing examination from safety agencies as the technology advances and real-world testing reveals potential challenges with current implementations.