Federal authorities say a “vital security hole” in Tesla‘s Autopilot system contributed to a minimum of 467 collisions, 13 leading to fatalities and “many others” leading to severe accidents.

The findings come from a Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration evaluation of 956 crashes through which Tesla Autopilot was thought to have been in use. The outcomes of the almost three-year investigation had been printed Friday.

Tesla’s Autopilot design has “led to foreseeable misuse and avoidable crashes,” the NHTSA report stated. The system didn’t “sufficiently guarantee driver consideration and acceptable use.”

The company additionally stated it was opening a brand new probe into the effectiveness of a software program replace Tesla beforehand issued as a part of a recall in December. That replace was meant to repair Autopilot defects that NHTSA recognized as a part of this identical investigation.

The voluntary recall by way of an over-the-air software program replace lined 2 million Tesla autos within the U.S., and was purported to particularly enhance driver monitoring techniques in Teslas geared up with Autopilot.

NHTSA prompt in its report Friday that the software program replace was in all probability insufficient, since extra crashes linked to Autopilot proceed to be reported.

In a single latest instance, a Tesla driver in Snohomish County, Washington, struck and killed a motorcyclist on April 19, based on information obtained by CNBC and NBC Information. The motive force informed police he was utilizing Autopilot on the time of the collision.

The NHTSA findings are the latest in a sequence of regulator and watchdog reviews which have questioned the security of Tesla’s Autopilot know-how, which the corporate has promoted as a key differentiator from different automobile firms.

On its web site, Tesla says Autopilot is designed to cut back driver “workload” by means of superior cruise management and automated steering know-how.

Tesla has not issued a response to Friday’s NHTSA report and didn’t reply to a request for remark despatched to Tesla’s press inbox, investor relations staff and to the corporate’s vp of car engineering, Lars Moravy.

Earlier this month, Tesla settled a lawsuit from the household of Walter Huang, an Apple engineer and father of two, who died in a crash when his Tesla Mannequin X with Autopilot options switched on hit a freeway barrier. Tesla has sought to seal from public view the phrases of the settlement.

Within the face of those occasions, Tesla and CEO Elon Musk signaled this week that they’re betting the corporate’s future on autonomous driving.

“If someone does not consider Tesla’s going to unravel autonomy, I feel they shouldn’t be an investor within the firm,” Musk stated on Tesla’s earnings name Tuesday. He added, “We’ll, and we’re.”

Musk has for years promised prospects and shareholders that Tesla would be capable to flip its present automobiles into self-driving autos with a software program replace. Nonetheless, the corporate solely gives driver help techniques and has not produced self-driving autos to this point.

He has additionally made security claims about Tesla’s driver help techniques with out permitting third-party overview of the corporate’s knowledge.

For instance, in 2021, Elon Musk claimed in a submit on social media, “Tesla with Autopilot engaged now approaching 10 occasions decrease probability of accident than common automobile.”

Philip Koopman, an automotive security researcher and Carnegie Mellon College affiliate professor of laptop engineering, stated he views Tesla’s advertising and marketing and claims as “autonowashing.” He additionally stated in response to NHTSA’s report that he hopes Tesla will take the company’s considerations critically transferring ahead.

“Individuals are dying as a consequence of misplaced confidence in Tesla Autopilot capabilities. Even easy steps may enhance security,” Koopman stated. “Tesla may mechanically prohibit Autopilot use to supposed roads primarily based on map knowledge already within the automobile. Tesla may enhance monitoring so drivers cannot routinely turn into absorbed of their cellphones whereas Autopilot is in use.”

NBC’s Robert Wile contributed to this report.