Europe 1 with AFP 11:36 p.m., December 15, 2021
The driver behind the wheel of a Tesla electric taxi which caused a fatal accident in Paris was indicted on Wednesday.
At the end of his police custody, the driver, aged 56, was indicted for "manslaughter and unintentional injuries by land motor vehicle" and placed under judicial supervision.
Human error or technical failure?
The driver behind the wheel of a Tesla electric taxi which caused a fatal accident in Paris was indicted on Wednesday and the investigations were entrusted to investigating judges.
At the end of his police custody, the driver, aged 56, was indicted for "manslaughter and unintentional injuries by land motor vehicle" and placed under judicial control, told AFP a source judicial.
An accident of "particular" violence
"My client is really very shocked by the accident which was particularly violent", reacted to AFP his lawyer, Me Sarah Saldmann.
On Saturday evening, this man, a taxi driver for 25 years residing in Essonne and who was not on duty, was traveling in the 13th arrondissement of Paris aboard a Tesla electric taxi with his wife and daughters when he lost the car. vehicle control.
The taxi struck two pedestrians, then a glass container which, in shock from the speed, was thrown into the air and exploded on the ground.
The vehicle then struck a traffic light, also thrown into the air.
Then ended his race in a van in circulation in the middle of the crossroads, according to the account of a police source.
The accident left one dead and 19 injured, according to the latest report retained by the investigation.
The brake pedal stuck, explains the driver's lawyer
"It's an accident for him, he did everything to press the brake pedal which got stuck and at the same time the car got carried away and drove excessively fast", recounted Me Saldmann, recalling that this electric model does not was not equipped with a hand brake.
The vehicle was bought new "three months ago" and had not presented any difficulty until then, according to the lawyer.
As a precaution, the G7 taxi company announced on Tuesday to shut down the 37 Model 3s in its fleet, a model similar to the vehicle involved in the accident.
Tesla, which has access to certain technical data, has ruled out any technical failure of his car.
Human error or technical failure?
The prosecution, which opened a preliminary investigation on Saturday, entrusted the investigations Wednesday to investigating judges.
The investigation must determine, relying in particular on technical expertise, whether the accident was the result of human error or a technical failure.
"At this stage we have no technical element that would make us believe that there is a problem of technical malfunction on these models," said Minister Delegate for Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari on RMC.
According to him, Tesla Europe has not noted "any alert of this type" on some 70,000 Model 3 circulating on the continent.
Tesla's Model 3 is the American manufacturer's bestseller.
250 requests in the United States
The vehicle is not autonomous, but is equipped with a driving assistance on highway which nevertheless requires to keep his hands on the wheel and his eyes on the road. Several controversies have struck the young but powerful automobile brand concerning the safety of its vehicles.
The US Highway Safety Agency (NHTSA) said in January, after examining nearly 250 complaints, that the accidents cited could not be attributed to a defect in the vehicle, but rather to "improper use of the pedal".
Tesla also recalled a few thousand Model 3 and Model Y in June in the United States to inspect and tighten, or even replace, bolts in the brake calipers.
"The bolts securing the brake calipers could loosen, the calipers could come loose and come into contact with the wheel rim," according to a document transmitted by Tesla to NHTSA.