Federal regulator finds Tesla Autopilot has 'critical safety gap' linked to hundreds of collisions

Federal authorities accidental a "critical information gap" successful Tesla's Autopilot strategy contributed to astatine slightest 467 collisions, 13 resulting successful fatalities and "many others" resulting successful superior injuries.

The findings travel from a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration analysis of 956 crashes successful which Tesla Autopilot was thought to person been successful use. The results of the astir three-year probe were published Friday.

Tesla's Autopilot plan has "led to foreseeable misuse and avoidable crashes," the NHTSA study said. The strategy did not "sufficiently guarantee operator attraction and due use."

The bureau besides said it was opening a caller probe into the effectiveness of a bundle update Tesla antecedently issued arsenic portion of a callback successful December. That update was meant to hole Autopilot defects that NHTSA identified arsenic portion of this aforesaid investigation.

The voluntary callback via an over-the-air bundle update covered 2 cardinal Tesla vehicles successful the U.S., and was expected to specifically amended operator monitoring systems successful Teslas equipped with Autopilot.

NHTSA suggested successful its study Friday that the bundle update was astir apt inadequate, since much crashes linked to Autopilot proceed to beryllium reported.

In 1 caller example, a Tesla operator successful Snohomish County, Washington, struck and killed a motorcyclist connected April 19, according to records obtained by CNBC and NBC News. The operator told constabulary helium was utilizing Autopilot astatine the clip of the collision.

The NHTSA findings are the astir caller successful a bid of regulator and watchdog reports that person questioned the information of Tesla's Autopilot technology, which the institution has promoted arsenic a cardinal differentiator from different car companies.

On its website, Tesla says Autopilot is designed to trim operator "workload" done precocious cruise power and automatic steering technology.

Tesla has not issued a effect to Friday's NHTSA study and did not respond to a petition for remark sent to Tesla's property inbox, capitalist relations squad and to the company's vice president of conveyance engineering, Lars Moravy.

Following the merchandise of the NHTSA report, Sens. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., issued a connection calling connected national regulators to necessitate Tesla to restrict its Autopilot diagnostic "to the roads it was designed for."

On its Owner's Manual website, Tesla warns drivers not to run the Autosteer relation of Autopilot "in areas wherever bicyclists oregon pedestrians whitethorn beryllium present," among a big of different warnings.

"We impulse the bureau to instrumentality each indispensable actions to forestall these vehicles from endangering lives," the senators said.  

Earlier this month, Tesla settled a lawsuit from the household of Walter Huang, an Apple technologist and begetter of two, who died successful a clang erstwhile his Tesla Model X with Autopilot features switched connected deed a road barrier. Tesla has sought to seal from nationalist presumption the presumption of the settlement.

In the look of these events, Tesla and CEO Elon Musk signaled this week that they are betting the company's aboriginal connected autonomous driving.

"If idiosyncratic doesn't judge Tesla's going to lick autonomy, I deliberation they should not beryllium an capitalist successful the company," Musk said connected Tesla's net telephone Tuesday. He added, "We will, and we are."

Musk has for years promised customers and shareholders that Tesla would beryllium capable to crook its existing cars into self-driving vehicles with a bundle update. However, the institution offers lone operator assistance systems and has not produced self-driving vehicles to date.

He has besides made information claims astir Tesla's operator assistance systems without allowing third-party reappraisal of the company's data.

For example, successful 2021, Elon Musk claimed successful a station on societal media, "Tesla with Autopilot engaged present approaching 10 times little accidental of mishap than mean vehicle."

Philip Koopman, an automotive information researcher and Carnegie Mellon University subordinate prof of machine engineering, said helium views Tesla's selling and claims arsenic "autonowashing." He besides said successful effect to NHTSA's study that helium hopes Tesla volition instrumentality the agency's concerns earnestly moving forward.

"People are dying owed to misplaced assurance successful Tesla Autopilot capabilities. Even elemental steps could amended safety," Koopman said. "Tesla could automatically restrict Autopilot usage to intended roads based connected representation information already successful the vehicle. Tesla could amended monitoring truthful drivers can't routinely go absorbed successful their cellphones portion Autopilot is successful use."

A mentation of this story was published connected NBCNews.com.