No early indication of technical fault in Paris Tesla crash – French minister

A Tesla logo is seen on a Parisian taxi car in Paris, France, December 14, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

PARIS, Dec 15 (Reuters) – French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said on Wednesday there was no suggestion at this stage that a fatal accident in Paris involving a Tesla (TSLA.O) Model 3 was caused by a technical fault.

Leading Paris taxi company G7 has suspended the use of the cars in its fleet after an accident on Saturday involving a Model 3 being driven by one of its taxi drivers killed one person and injured 20. read more

Tesla has not responded to requests for comment.

“There are no elements that would lead one to believe it was tied to a technical problem,” Djebbari told RMC radio, adding that he was not worried about the accident for now.

The minister said he had spoken with the chief executive of Tesla Europe who told him there had been no safety alerts about the model involved in the crash.

G7 Deputy Chief Executive Yann Ricordel said the accident occurred while an off-duty taxi driver was taking his family to a restaurant on Saturday evening.

Ricordel cited Tesla as saying on Monday that an initial inquiry had ruled out a technical dysfunction of the vehicle.

The G7 executive said the driver had tried to brake but the car accelerated instead. It was not clear whether the car was operating in Autopilot mode.

G7 said it would suspend the use of 37 Tesla Model 3 cars in its fleet until a police investigation has been completed.

Tesla collects detailed data from the sensors and cameras on its vehicles and has used such data in the past to challenge claims that accidents were caused by malfunctioning technology.

Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Richard Lough and David Clarke

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.