According to Reuters, Sky News and other foreign media reported on the 21st, in December last year, a Tesla Model 3 car driven by a Paris taxi driver was in a car accident, resulting in 1 death and 20 injuries. On the 20th local time, the driver's lawyer Sarah said that he had filed a legal lawsuit with Tesla, accusing Tesla of "putting the lives of others in danger."
On the evening of December 11, 2021, local time, a taxi driver who was off duty at the French taxi company G7 drove a Tesla Model 3 car with his family to a restaurant for dinner, resulting in 1 death and 20 injuries.
The accident occurred in the 13th arrondissement of The French capital, Paris, lined with bars, restaurants and shops. According to witnesses, the Tesla car first hit a metal pile, a row of shared bicycles and a dumpster, then hit pedestrians and a van before finally stopping.
Image source: Sky News
After the accident, the taxi driver told police that the Model 3 car he was driving at the time accelerated on its own and he was unable to activate the brakes. He also noted that his foot kept on the brake pedal as the vehicle accelerated on its own, and he tried to slow down the car by hitting obstacles, including dumpsters. Subsequently, Tesla issued a statement saying that there was currently no indication of a technical glitch.
After the accident, Paris taxi company G7 suspended operations for a total of 37 Model 3 taxis in its fleet.
The taxi driver is under formal investigation for manslaughter but has not yet been prosecuted. After the accident, the results of the police's alcohol test showed that the driver did not drink and drive at the time.
Sarah, the driver's lawyer, said the driver, who was born in 1964 and has been a taxi driver since the '90s, has never had an accident like this one, and he only bought a new car three months ago.
Last year, U.S. auto safety regulators formally reviewed more than 200 complaints about the sudden acceleration of Tesla vehicles, but the regulator later said it found no flaws in Tesla's systems, saying the accidents were caused by "pedal misoperation."
For now, lawyer Sarah declined to comment on whether the lawsuit was based on preliminary conclusions that investigators have not yet published. Tesla has not responded to a request for comment.
Upstream News Compiled by Ruochen Yang