NHTSA Opens Investigation Into 2.88 Million Teslas With Full Self-Driving After 50-Plus Violation Reports

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into 2.88 million Tesla vehicles equipped with the Full Self-Driving system, after more than 50 reports of traffic-safety violations and a series of crashes, according to Reuters. The probe adds to growing scrutiny of Tesla advanced driver-assistance systems from Congress and regulators, and it comes weeks after a new NHTSA administrator was confirmed.

An investigation is not a finding of a defect and does not by itself force a recall, but it is a formal step that can lead to one. Regulators typically use this stage to demand data, examine crash and near-miss reports, and test whether a system behaves as its maker claims in real traffic. For Tesla, the stakes are commercial as well as legal: Full Self-Driving is central to the Tesla robotaxi pitch, and any restriction on its use would land directly on that strategy.

Owners should keep two ideas separate. The FSD investigation concerns customer cars with the driver-assistance package, while separate NHTSA files cover the purpose-built Cybercab robotaxi fleet, including a school-zone petition and an audit of how Tesla self-certified the steering-wheel-free vehicle. Both tracks point the same way: regulators are no longer treating Tesla autonomy claims as marketing copy, and the company will have to prove them with data.