The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced on Oct. 9 that it is opening a preliminary investigation into 2.88 million Tesla vehicles equipped with its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, following more than 50 reports of traffic-safety violations, including 14 crashes and 23 injuries.
According to NHTSA, FSD has at times “induced vehicle behavior that violated traffic safety laws,” including driving through red lights and traveling against the proper lane of traffic. The agency’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) says it has received six reports of Teslas running red lights and causing collisions while FSD was active, with four of those incidents resulting in injuries.
Step One Toward a Possible Recall
This probe marks a preliminary evaluation, the first stage of NHTSA’s defect-analysis process. Should the agency find evidence of an “unreasonable risk to safety,” it could require Tesla to issue a recall or deploy corrective over-the-air software updates.
The new review arrives amid growing congressional and public scrutiny of Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving systems, and only weeks after a new NHTSA administrator was confirmed by the Senate. It adds to the multiple open investigations already targeting the company’s driver-assistance features.
In October 2024, NHTSA opened a separate investigation into 2.4 million Teslas after several crashes occurred in poor visibility conditions such as fog, glare or dust, including one fatal collision. Regulators are examining whether FSD properly recognizes degraded visual conditions and alerts the driver when system performance is limited.
Then in January 2025, NHTSA launched another probe into 2.6 million Teslas over incidents involving “Smart Summon,” a feature that allows owners to move their vehicles remotely via smartphone app.
The agency is also auditing whether Tesla has complied with crash-reporting rules under the 2021 Standing General Order, which requires automakers to report all advanced driver-assistance incidents within a set time frame.
Broader Industry and Regulatory Context
The FSD probe highlights the blurring line between driver assistance and automation, a growing policy challenge worldwide. U.S. Sens. Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal (D-MA) urged NHTSA in September to investigate “misleading branding” and rising near-collision reports linked to Tesla’s FSD and Autopilot systems.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s experimental robotaxi program — launched in Austin, TX, in June 2025 — remains under separate regulatory review. NHTSA has requested detailed explanations of how that system’s autonomy level compares to FSD and how it handles degraded sensor performance. Early test videos appeared to show robotaxis drifting or misjudging intersections, drawing quick attention from both regulators and safety advocates.
What Comes Next
If the preliminary evaluation confirms a safety defect, Tesla could face one of the largest software-related recalls in U.S. history, potentially affecting nearly every Tesla sold in North America equipped with FSD. Analysts say any mandated over-the-air fixes could also trigger repair-verification requirements.
