Elon Musk’s Tesla under fire again: Regulators probe crashes involving self-driving feature

Tesla is once again facing scrutiny from US federal regulators after a series of alarming incidents involving its Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature, a technology CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly boasted will revolutionise transportation.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced a new investigation into 58 incidents where Tesla has allegedly ran red lights, drove on the wrong side of the road, or crashed, resulting in fires, injuries, and traffic violations.

According to the agency, these accidents have led to more than a dozen crashes and nearly two dozen injuries.

The probe encompasses 2.9 million vehicles, effectively every Tesla equipped with FSD, and adds to several other active investigations into the company’s driver-assistance systems.

Regulators said multiple drivers involved in these incidents reported that their vehicles gave no warning before behaving erratically.

Critics have argued that Musk’s ambitious vision of creating fully autonomous Tesla cars may be outpacing safety realities.

“The world has become a giant testing ground for Elon’s concept of full self-driving, and it’s not working,” said investor Ross Gerber.

Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein added, “The ultimate question is, does the software work?”

Despite Tesla’s insistence that drivers must remain attentive, the FSD name has been widely criticised as misleading, potentially encouraging overreliance on the system.