Tesla told France there were no signs of a technical fault in the Paris crash

PARIS, December 15 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) has told the French government that there is no indication that a fatal accident in Paris with a Tesla Model 3 taxi was caused by a technical fault, a spokesman for the government on Wednesday.

Paris taxi company G7 has suspended the use of the 37 Model 3 cars in its fleet after the accident on Saturday night, which involved one of the drivers.

BFM TV reported that the driver had been put under formal investigation for suspected murder. Under French law, a formal investigation means that there is “serious or consistent evidence” involving a suspect in a crime. It is one step closer to a trial, but such investigations can be dropped.

One person died in the accident and 20 were injured, three of them seriously. read more

“Of course we have been in contact with Tesla’s management and they tell us that there is no technical problem with flagging on their vehicles,” government spokesman Gabriel Attal told reporters.

He added that the government was waiting for the outcome of the ongoing judicial investigation.

Still in shock four days after the accident, witnesses told Reuters that the car plowed through metal poles, a number of bicycles, a rubbish bin full of glass and hit pedestrians and a van before finally stopping.

“I thought it was an attack. It was glass, dust … it was like there had been an explosion,” said Tillard Diomande, who was serving customers behind his bar in a nearby restaurant.

The vehicle, which had stopped at a red traffic light, suddenly picked up speed, hit and took with it a cyclist who later died, said a police source, who quotes the driver’s own version of the incidents, witnesses and video surveillance.

The driver tested negative in a blood alcohol test, the police source said.

It was not clear if the car operated in Tesla’s Autopilot mode, which handles certain driving tasks.

NO SAFETY WARNINGS

Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari told RMC radio that he had spoken to the CEO of Tesla Europe, who told him that there had been no safety warnings about the Model 3.

He added that the car manufacturer, which collects detailed data from the sensors and cameras on their vehicles, informed him that they had provided relevant technical data to investigators.

Tesla, which is at the forefront of the electric and self-driving vehicle revolution and has a market value of almost $ 1 trillion, has not responded to requests for comment.

G7’s Deputy CEO Yann Ricordel told Reuters that the accident happened while a taxi driver who was at work took his family to a restaurant. The driver tried to brake, but the car accelerated instead, Ricordel said.

Video of the scene obtained by Reuters showed the wreckage of a black Tesla and debris strewn across the street. The left side of the vehicle was curled, the left front wheel collapsed and the windshield shattered.

The car appeared to have collided with a white van, which was damaged in front. Other footage circulating on social media showed the audience caring for the injured and shocked spectators in the wake of the accident.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk was named 2021 “Person of the Year” by both Time magazine and the Financial Times to trigger a historic shift in the automotive industry toward electric vehicles, and also launch rockets into orbit with its space company.

Tesla’s Model 3 topped European car sales in September, marking the first time an electric vehicle has done so in monthly charts.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the US car safety regulator, said in August that they had sent teams to review 31 Tesla accidents with 10 deaths since 2016 where they suspected the use of advanced driver assistance systems.

Autopilot was excluded in three of the accidents.

Last year, NHTSA opened a formal review of more than 200 complaints about the sudden acceleration of Tesla cars, but the regulator later said it found no defects in Tesla’s systems, saying the accidents were caused by “misuse of pedals”.

Musk has repeatedly defended Autopilot and tweeted in April that “Tesla with Autopilot engaged is now approaching 10 times lower chance of accident than the average vehicle.”

Tesla advises drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel and pay attention when using the autopilot.

Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain and Elizabeth Pineau in Paris Further Reporting by Alain Acco in Paris, David Shepardson in Washington and Hyunjoo Jin in San Frnacisco Writing by Richard Lough and Silvia Aloisi Editing by Jason Neely, Philippa Fletcher and Matthew Lewis

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