Paris Taxi Company Pulls Tesla Model 3 From Streets After Crash Leaves 1 Dead, 20 Injured

The largest taxi company in Paris has suspended its use of Tesla’s TSLA Model 3 after a fatal crash involving the electric vehicle in the French capital over the past weekend.

What Happened: According to a report in The Guardian, a driver for the G7 taxi company lost control of his Tesla Model 3 on Saturday night in Paris’ southeastern 13th district, resulting in the death of one person and injuries to 20 others, with three people currently in intensive care.

Reuters quoted a Parisian police source who said the driver of the Model 3 had stopped at a red traffic light, but the vehicle unexpectedly sped forward, hitting and dragging a cyclist who later died. The driver attempted to stop the vehicle by steering into obstacles, including trash bins. The driver was given an alcohol test that came back negative.

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What Happens Next: Parisian prosecutors are conducting an investigation, and the nature of the incident raised concerns over whether there was a malfunction in the vehicle.

However, France’s transportation minister, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, said in a radio interview that there were “no elements that would lead one to believe it was tied to a technical problem.” And G7 Deputy Chief Executive Yann Ricordel said Tesla informed his company that there was no technical fault on the vehicle in question.

Tesla’s safety record has been tarnished after several fatal crashes tied to the autopilot function on its vehicles. It is not clear if the driver in the Paris crash was using the autopilot function.

G7 had 37 Model 3s in its fleet. While those vehicles have been taken off the road, the fleet's other Tesla models will continue to be used.

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Photo: A Tesla Model 3 on a Paris street, courtesy of Bretwa / Wikimedia Commons