Tesla (TSLA) was granted a five-week extension to respond to a defect investigation into 8,313 potential traffic violations involving its Full Self-Driving system. The review is expected to take weeks as the company analyzes the episodes in detail.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened this probe in October after receiving dozens of reports that Teslas using FSD ran red lights, drove in the wrong direction, or otherwise failed to comply with traffic laws, part of a broader investigation covering nearly 2.9 million vehicles equipped with FSD (including FSD Beta and FSD Supervised). Regulators have tallied at least 58 reports of traffic-safety issues linked to FSD, including about 14 crashes and 23 injuries, with documented incidents where cars allegedly proceeded through red signals into intersections, made lane changes into oncoming traffic, crossed double-yellow lines, or attempted turns from the wrong lanes.
The current investigation builds on earlier NHTSA scrutiny of Tesla’s automated driving features and could eventually lead to a recall if regulators conclude that the software creates an unreasonable safety risk. The investigation could also impact how Tesla’s (TSLA) robotaxi trials in Austin and other U.S. cities progress.
Separately, California has accused Tesla (TSLA) of overstating FSD capabilities and threatened a 30-day sales suspension.
Shares of Tesla (TSLA) are down 2.5% for the early part of 2026.