Federal regulators are investigating nearly 2.9 million Tesla vehicles after reports that the company’s Full Self-Driving system committed traffic violations and was involved in dozens of incidents, including crashes and injuries across the U.S. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened the probe this week, citing 58 reported events and 23 injuries tied to FSD behavior such as running red lights and improper lane changes.
Tesla points to its internal crash statistics to argue the technology can reduce risk. In Q1 2025, Tesla reported one crash roughly every 7.44 million miles with Autopilot engaged, versus one every 1.51 million miles when not using Autopilot. The company compares those figures to nationwide averages derived from federal crash and mileage data.
Independent yardsticks suggest automated systems can beat human baselines in certain settings, though comparisons are imperfect. Waymo’s peer-reviewed analysis of rider-only robotaxi operations in Phoenix and San Francisco found injury-report crashes about 80 percent lower per million miles than matched human benchmarks, and police-reported crashes about 55 percent lower. Nationally, the U.S. roadway fatality rate in 2023 was 1.26 deaths per 100 million miles traveled, down from 2022 but still elevated versus pre-pandemic years.
Safety researchers also warn that “partial automation” systems live or die by how well they keep human drivers engaged. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s first safeguard ratings found most systems had gaps in monitoring and misuse prevention, underscoring the challenge of comparing supervised driver-assist to truly driverless services.
Regulators have not published independent per-mile crash rates for Tesla’s FSD, and Tesla’s figures are self-reported with different crash definitions than national statistics. NHTSA says its investigation will determine whether a recall or software changes are warranted.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Tell your Smart Speaker to "PLAY 1080 KRLD"
Sign Up to receive our KRLD Insider Newsletter for more news
Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube