Man or machine: Tesla taxi fleet suspended in France following fatal crash

A fleet of Tesla Model 3 taxis have been taken off the road temporarily as investigators attempt to find the cause of a fatal crash in Paris.

While it’s not yet known whether the Model 3 had Autopilot engaged – the name of Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving system – the taxi operator has suspended its Tesla fleet and police are investigating the driver for manslaughter, Reuters reports.

Tesla has denied any technical issues with the vehicle, and is understood to be cooperating with authorities.

"We have been in contact, of course, with Tesla's management and they tell us that there is no technical problem to flag on their vehicles," Government spokesperson Gabriel Attal told media.

Witnesses say the vehicle was stationary at a red light, before speeding forward and driving through multiple obstacles and pedestrians. One person died and 20 more were injured in the incident.

Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems have come under scrutiny in recent years, with a number of videos posted online showing the vehicles displaying unpredictable behaviour when the driving technology is engaged.

This element of doubt has forced the taxi company to suspend its fleet of 37 Tesla Model 3 vehicles, with the off-duty driver claiming he attempted to brake as the vehicle accelerated, as he was taking his family to a restaurant.

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File photo.

Sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) can be blamed on either mechanical malfunction or driver error – with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimating around 16,000 accidents occur annually in the United States due to ‘pedal error’, in which the throttle is pressed instead of the brake.

As the driver believes they have their foot on the brake pedal, they will often press harder, exacerbating the issue.

In July 2020, Toyota developed its Acceleration Suppression Function to reduce the number of incidents of SUA in its vehicles.