U.S. Regulator Probes Tesla’s ‘Mad Max’ Mode Over Safety Concerns

Topline

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is reportedly looking into Tesla’s new “Mad Max” driver-assistance mode over concerns that it allows vehicles to operate at higher speeds above posted speed limits, reports Reuters as billionaire Elon Musk’s car company continues to draw scrutiny.

VAIL, CO – JUNE 9, 2017: The Tesla brand logo embellishes the nose of a Tesla electric sedan in Vail, Colorado. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

NHTSA’s latest inquiry comes at the same time the agency is examining more than 50 reports of traffic-safety violations and several crashes involving Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system, which is installed in roughly 2.9 million vehicles, according to Reuters.

The Department of Transportation said earlier this month it documented 58 incidents involving Tesla vehicles using FSD, including 14 crashes and 23 injuries, linked to red-light violations and vehicles driving against the proper direction of travel on public roadways.

Descriptions of Tesla’s “Mad Max” mode — one mode of the FSD system — cite faster speeds and more frequent lane changes than other FSD modes, according to Insurance Business.

Tesla has not publicly commented directly on the new inquiry, though the company noted on X that in the third quarter of 2025 it recorded one crash for every 6.36 million miles driven with Autopilot engaged, compared with one crash every 720,000 miles across all U.S. vehicles based on NHTSA data in 2023.

Crucial Quote

In a post on X reposted by Tesla, Nick Cruz Patane says: “Mad Max mode is INSANE. It drives your car like a sports car. If you are running late, this is the mode for you.”

Key Background

Tesla’s automation systems have long drawn regulatory scrutiny. In 2022, regulators warned that a feature allowing vehicles to move through all-way stop intersections without fully stopping could raise the risk of crashes. In response, the company issued a recall, affecting more than 50,000 vehicles, and released a free over-the-air update to deactivate the “rolling-stop” software. Most recently, “Mad Max” has reignited concerns about Tesla’s software practices, as the company faces overlapping probes from agencies including NHTSA and the California Department of Motor Vehicles over how Tesla promotes its Autopilot and FSD systems, Insurance Business reports.