The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has granted Tesla a five-week extension to respond to questions about its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system amid reports of traffic violations, erratic behavior, and crashes. The probe, opened in October 2025, covers 2.9 million vehicles and includes 62 complaints. Tesla insists drivers must remain attentive at all times.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched an investigation into Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature in October 2025 after dozens of reports of vehicles running red lights, driving on the wrong side of the road, veering into oncoming traffic, and causing crashes resulting in injuries. The probe covers 2.9 million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD, classified as Level 2 driver-assistance software requiring constant driver supervision. By December 3, 2025, NHTSA had documented 62 complaints, up from 58 at the start.
NHTSA's December 3 information request demanded details including all U.S. FSD-equipped vehicles and software versions, usage statistics, incident summaries, causal analyses, FSD operation at traffic signals, and remedial actions. The original deadline was January 19, 2026, with potential fines up to $27,874 per day for noncompliance.
Tesla requested the extension, citing the holiday period, overlapping responses to three other NHTSA probes (due January 16, January 23, and February 4, 2026), and time to review 8,313 potential reports at 300 per day. NHTSA granted it on January 16, 2026, extending the deadline to February 23, 2026. This follows a shift to a subscription-only FSD model announced recently.
Critics argue the 'full self-driving' name misleads drivers into over-reliance, though Tesla, led by CEO Elon Musk, consistently warns that the system requires intervention and cannot operate autonomously. Regulators note that in some incidents, drivers received no warnings before erratic behavior, including a fatal 2024 crash near Seattle where an FSD-equipped Tesla struck a motorcyclist, prompting a lawsuit.
The extension comes amid business challenges: Tesla lost its position as the world's top electric vehicle maker in 2025, delivering 1.64 million vehicles (a 9% decline), while BYD sold 2.26 million. Tesla released a new FSD version in fall 2025 and is testing an advanced iteration aiming to eliminate driver intervention—a key goal for robotaxi services and humanoid robots. Investors remain optimistic, with shares up about 11% in 2025 to around $439.