Tesla’s Autopilot system was approved for use in Europe in 2015 via a legal loophole, with the involvement of the Netherlands Vehicle Authority (RDW), Swedish transport officials told broadcaster Zembla.

Under EU rules, carmakers need approval from just one national authority to sell their vehicles across the bloc.

Tesla chose RDW for its approval process. At the time, there were no clear regulations for systems like Autopilot, which allows a car to steer itself on motorways for extended periods.

According to Swedish officials, RDW and Tesla “creatively interpreted” the rules to enable approval. A whistleblower within RDW alerted other countries and said they believed the decision was incorrect, Zembla reported.

RDW confirmed there was internal disagreement but maintains the system met legal requirements.

Autopilot has since been linked to hundreds of accidents worldwide, including more than 40 fatal crashes investigated in the US.

Plans by Tesla to roll out full self-driving systems across Europe appear to have been halted by safety concerns in the UK, Norway, Switzerland and Sweden.