After an accident in Paris last Sunday, the renowned taxi company G7 has suspended all its Tesla 3s pending police investigations. The brakes didn't work.
A fatal accident
The accident happened last Sunday at 21pm in the evening when a Tesla Model 3 from the taxi company G7 was about to stop at a street intersection. Instead of slowing down, it sped up. The Tesla hit two pedestrians and a cyclist, smashed a glass collection container and crashed into a van. The result was fatal. 1 person died after the accident and 20 were injured - of which 3 are still serious. Several were injured by the glass container which had risen into the air and exploded when it hit the ground. Photos from the accident show a street scene that turned into a battlefield within seconds. A nearby restaurant was used as a gathering place for the wounded.
No brake – just full throttle
The driver stated that the brakes had no effect, and that the car sped off as if the gas had hung up. The extent of the damage confirms such a course of events. The driver had this evening off and used the car to drive to a restaurant with his family.
Temporarily out of service
Although the accident occurred during the driver's free time, the taxi company announced on Tuesday that it has decided to take all 37 of its Tesla Model 3 out of service - following suspicions of a technical fault with the car. The police are leading the investigation. Several newspapers have obtained statements from the car manufacturer. Tesla claims that the car reported the status "No fault" prior to the accident. The police will have access to further information as well as the footage from the car's four cameras. Whatever one may think of the reason, the taxi company's decision to suspend the Tesla 3 until the reason is known is absolutely correct.
What to do in a similar situation?
According to the local newspaper Le Monde Tesla states that they have investigated cases of "unintentional acceleration" in the past, but never found fault with the vehicles, - it is understood that it is driver error. The has temporary loss of brakes on the Tesla S has been registered. An error has also been detected in the fixing of the brake calipers on the Tesla 3 - but this should not have caused any accidents. According to Tesla experts, in an emergency the car can be slowed down by holding the Park button on the gear lever until the car is stopped by the parking brake. If the car gives full throttle of its own accord - for example by the throttle sticking up in the floor mat - you can hold down the gear selector for 2 seconds. Then the car goes into "neutral". If the foot touches two pedals at the same time, the engine power is cut.
It will be interesting to find out what caused the accident in Paris. You can't completely rule out the human factor, can you?
See
Le Parisien's coverage of the accident
