A dashcam clip made the rounds this week showing a Tesla Model 3 blowing through a red light and slamming into a C7 Chevrolet Corvette hard enough to spin it most of the way around. It is a dramatic few seconds, and it arrived attached to a much larger story about Tesla’s driver-assistance software. The two are worth keeping apart, because one is verified and one is not.
The verified part is a federal investigation. Last October, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a defect probe into roughly 2.88 million Teslas equipped with Full Self-Driving, after a run of complaints and crash reports describing cars that ran red lights and drove the wrong way with the software engaged.
That investigation, not the viral video, is the news. Whether Full Self-Driving was even switched on in the Corvette crash has not been established.
Key Takeaways
- NHTSA opened investigation PE25012 on October 7, 2025, covering an estimated 2,882,566 Teslas equipped with Full Self-Driving (Supervised) or FSD (Beta).
- The probe examines two behaviors: Teslas running red lights and Teslas driving against the proper direction of travel while FSD is engaged.
- At opening, NHTSA counted 58 incidents, including 14 crashes and 23 injuries. By a December escalation the tally had grown to about 80 reports.
- Some cars ran the light after stopping correctly first, which points to a software behavior rather than a simple failure to detect the signal.
- The viral Corvette crash is unconfirmed as an FSD event. No evidence has emerged that Autopilot or Full Self-Driving was engaged when it happened.
- FSD is a Level 2 system. Tesla characterizes it as partial automation that requires a fully attentive, responsible driver at all times, and NHTSA is investigating it on that basis.
What the Investigation Examines
The case carries the identifier PE25012, a Preliminary Evaluation opened by NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation on October 7, 2025. The population is specific: an estimated 2,882,566 Tesla vehicles that have been equipped with Full Self-Driving (Supervised) or FSD (Beta). That is the exact figure behind the “2.88 million” number circulating this week.
The opening resume is blunt about the problem. It describes “traffic safety law violations involving Tesla vehicles operating with FSD engaged, including proceeding through red traffic signals and driving against the proper direction of travel on public roadways.” NHTSA opened the case after Vehicle Owner Questionnaires, manufacturer crash reports, and media accounts began describing the same two failures.
At the point of opening, the agency logged 58 incidents. Of those, 14 involved crashes and 23 involved injuries. There were no reported fatalities.
Six of the reports described a Tesla running a red light and crashing with other vehicles in the intersection, and four of those six produced injuries. The counts are not cumulative across categories, because a single complaint can allege more than one failure, so the totals in the agency’s own table are the figures to trust.
The Detail That Makes This Unusual
Buried in the opening resume is the finding that reframes the whole probe. NHTSA notes that in at least some incidents, a Tesla proceeded into the intersection after coming to a complete stop. The car saw the red light. It stopped. Then it went anyway.
That is a different and more unsettling failure than a car failing to recognize a signal. A system that fails to detect a red light is making a perception error. A system that detects the light, stops for it, and then drives through it is making a decision error, and it is doing so after the driver has likely relaxed because the car appeared to behave correctly.
NHTSA framed its focus around exactly that gap, saying it will look at whether certain FSD driving inputs “forestall the driver’s supervision when they are unexpectedly performed.”
The agency also found the problem was repeatable in one physical location. Working with the Maryland Transportation Authority and State Police, NHTSA identified multiple incidents at the same intersection in Joppa, Maryland, and noted that Tesla has since taken action to address that specific spot.
A defect that reproduces at a known intersection, and that a manufacturer patches locally, is a concrete engineering problem rather than a vague pattern.
Three Separate Cases, Routinely Confused
Coverage of Tesla and NHTSA tends to blur together, so it helps to separate what are three distinct actions on three different systems. Confusing them is how the numbers get garbled.
The newest is PE25012, the red-light and wrong-way probe opened in October 2025, covering 2.88 million cars.
Separately, NHTSA has been running an investigation into FSD in reduced visibility, opened in October 2024 after crashes in sun glare, fog, and airborne dust, one of which killed a pedestrian. That case, originally covering about 2.4 million vehicles, was escalated in March 2026 to an Engineering Analysis touching roughly 3.2 million. And older still is the December 2023 recall of more than two million Teslas over Autopilot, which Tesla addressed with an over-the-air software update.
Three cases, three systems, three vehicle counts. The 2.88 million figure belongs to the red-light probe alone. Adding these numbers together, or treating a recall from 2023 as the same thing as an open 2026 investigation, produces the kind of confusion that makes the whole picture harder to read.
| Action | Opened | System | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recall 23V-838 | Dec 2023 | Autopilot | ~2 million (OTA remedy) |
| Investigation PE24031 / EA26002 | Oct 2024, escalated Mar 2026 | FSD, reduced visibility | 2.4M, then ~3.2M |
| Investigation PE25012 | Oct 2025 | FSD, red lights and wrong-way | ~2.88 million |
The Investigation Has Already Escalated
PE25012 has not stayed still. On December 3, 2025, NHTSA sent Tesla a formal Information Request, the step that turns a quiet evaluation into a pointed demand for data.
By then the agency had logged 62 complaints, 4 media reports, and 14 crash reports submitted by Tesla under a standing federal order, a combined total of about 80. The December request also formalized violations at railroad crossings into the defect definition, alongside the red-light and wrong-way behaviors already under review.
The data NHTSA demanded is the tell for how serious this is. The agency asked Tesla to break down cumulative FSD miles and vehicle-days by engagement status, and for each incident to state which automation system was engaged, when the car issued any takeover request, and how the driver responded.
That is the level of detail regulators pull when they are building toward a decision, not idly monitoring.
What a Preliminary Evaluation is: PE25012 is the first and lowest tier of NHTSA’s defect process. It is an investigation, not a recall. From here the agency can close the case, upgrade it to an Engineering Analysis, or push toward a recall. As of the latest filings, no recall has been ordered under this case.
About That Corvette Video
The dashcam clip that reignited all of this deserves its own careful handling. It shows a Tesla Model 3 running a red light and striking a C7 Corvette, reportedly spinning the sports car roughly 180 degrees. It is alarming footage, and it slotted neatly into the FSD narrative.
What it does not come with is any confirmation that a driver-assistance system was active. Coverage of the crash has stated plainly that no evidence has emerged showing Autopilot or Full Self-Driving was engaged at the time.
Its location, any injuries, and any citations remain single-sourced and unverified. A Tesla running a red light with a distracted human at the wheel and a Tesla running a red light on FSD are different events, and nothing so far establishes which this was.
The honest way to hold the video is as the reason people are talking about the investigation again, not as evidence inside it. The 58 incidents NHTSA is examining are documented in complaints and crash reports. The viral clip is a clip.
Full Self-Driving does not mean the car drives itself. Tesla characterizes FSD as an SAE Level 2 partial-automation system, and its own materials say the driver remains fully responsible at all times, including for obeying traffic laws. The name promises more than the system is rated to deliver, and that gap sits at the center of the agency’s concern.
The Robotaxi Timing Problem
The timing sharpens the story. NHTSA is examining whether FSD runs red lights while Tesla is simultaneously expanding a robotaxi program in Austin and marketing an unsupervised version of the same underlying software. The company began limited rides without an in-car safety monitor in January 2026.
A regulator documenting red-light and wrong-way behavior in the supervised product, at the moment the unsupervised product is rolling out, is a genuine tension rather than a manufactured one.
For the millions of Tesla owners who bought or subscribed to FSD, the practical takeaway is narrow and worth stating plainly. The system is a supervised aid, the driver is legally responsible for what the car does, and federal regulators are actively examining a failure mode where the car can act suddenly enough that an attentive person might not catch it in time.
That is the case to watch. It will move on documented data, not on the next viral video.
Bottom Line
A dashcam crash reignited the conversation, but the substance is NHTSA investigation PE25012, an open federal probe into roughly 2.88 million Teslas for running red lights and driving the wrong way with Full Self-Driving engaged. The most striking finding is that some cars ran the light after stopping for it first, and the case has already escalated from 58 incidents to about 80 with a formal data demand to Tesla. Full Self-Driving remains a Level 2 system that holds the driver responsible, the Corvette video is unconfirmed as an FSD event, and the investigation is the thing to follow.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Teslas is NHTSA investigating?
The red-light investigation, PE25012, covers an estimated 2,882,566 Teslas equipped with Full Self-Driving (Supervised) or FSD (Beta). That is the source of the widely cited 2.88 million figure.
What is NHTSA investigating Tesla for?
The probe examines traffic-law violations with FSD engaged, specifically Teslas proceeding through red traffic signals and driving against the proper direction of travel. A December 2025 escalation added violations at railroad crossings.
Was Full Self-Driving on during the Corvette crash?
That has not been confirmed. Coverage of the viral dashcam clip states that no evidence has emerged showing Autopilot or Full Self-Driving was engaged at the time. The crash is a reason the investigation is back in the news, not a documented part of it.
Is this a recall?
No. PE25012 is a Preliminary Evaluation, the first and lowest tier of NHTSA’s defect process. It can be closed, upgraded to an Engineering Analysis, or lead to a recall, but as of the latest filings no recall has been ordered under this case.
How many crashes are involved?
At the investigation’s opening in October 2025, NHTSA counted 58 incidents, including 14 crashes and 23 injuries, with no reported fatalities. Six reports described a Tesla running a red light and crashing in an intersection, four of which caused injuries.
What does it mean that a Tesla ran a red light after stopping?
NHTSA found that some cars came to a complete stop at a red light and then proceeded into the intersection anyway. That suggests a decision-level software behavior rather than a failure to perceive the signal, and it can catch a supervising driver off guard.
Does Tesla Full Self-Driving drive itself?
No. Tesla characterizes FSD as an SAE Level 2 partial-automation system, and NHTSA is investigating it on that basis. Tesla’s materials state the driver remains fully responsible at all times, so despite the name, the driver must stay attentive and ready to take over.
How is this different from earlier Tesla investigations?
There are three separate actions. A 2023 recall addressed Autopilot on about two million cars via software. A 2024 investigation, escalated in 2026, examines FSD in reduced visibility across roughly 3.2 million. PE25012, from 2025, is the red-light and wrong-way probe covering 2.88 million. The systems and vehicle counts differ.
What should Tesla FSD owners do?
Treat the system as a supervised aid, keep full attention on the road, and remain ready to intervene, especially at intersections. The driver is legally responsible for the vehicle’s behavior regardless of whether FSD is engaged.
Michael Kahn
Michael Kahn is the writer, photographer, and publisher behind The Weekly Driver. He cares about how cars drive and what they're like to own. He covers automobile industry news, car shows and events, and new car reviews. The reviews come from behind the wheel: day trips that favor back routes, treating a good meal as half the reason to go. He directs and produces the visual media, matching each car to a setting and mood that fit it. When he's not reviewing new cars, Michael races paddleboards, camels, and ostriches, along with the occasional exotic car on the racetrack, and has driven in every state and country visited.
https://theweeklydriver.com