Washington: The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a sweeping investigation into nearly 2.88 million Tesla vehicles equipped with the Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, following reports of traffic violations and crashes linked to the software. The probe comes amid increasing scrutiny of Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance technologies, including the Autopilot system, from both Congress and safety regulators.
According to NHTSA, the FSD system, designed to assist drivers while requiring active supervision, has reportedly caused vehicles to run red lights and drive against the proper direction of travel during lane changes. The agency is reviewing 58 reports, which include 14 crashes and 23 injuries. In six documented cases, vehicles engaged with FSD proceeded through red lights, resulting in collisions with other vehicles, four of which caused injuries.
The investigation is a preliminary evaluation that could lead to a mandatory recall if the agency determines that the vehicles pose an unreasonable risk to public safety. NHTSA also plans to examine FSD behavior at railroad crossings and other critical traffic scenarios, following complaints from drivers and safety concerns raised by Democratic Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal regarding near-miss incidents.
Tesla, which has issued a recent software update to the FSD system, maintains that the technology requires active supervision and does not make the vehicles fully autonomous. However, drivers have reported situations where the system failed to recognize traffic signals correctly, prompting NHTSA to assess potential safety risks. The current probe follows a series of previous investigations into Tesla’s automated vehicle features, including remote parking functions and the company’s self-driving robotaxi deployments in Austin, Texas.
As regulatory scrutiny intensifies, Tesla faces mounting pressure to demonstrate that its FSD system operates safely under real-world driving conditions, underscoring ongoing tensions between the push for autonomous vehicle technology and public road safety concerns.