Hot damn, the Tesla Model X has the best crash rating of any SUV
Five stars across the board is a feather in Elon Musk's cap, that's for sure.
The Tesla Model X earned a full 5-star crash rating from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the electric automaker announced Tuesday. Which obviously means the car is pretty darn safe.
But what's most impressive is that the Model X is the first SUV to receive 5-star ratings across the board, in every category and subcategory.
I wouldn't go smashing one into a pole just to prove its safety. It's best to take the NHTSA at its word.
Tesla also claims that, according to the NHTSA's test data, the Model X has the "lowest probability of injury" of any SUV ever tested. The federal agency in charge of crash-testing new cars didn't release that data to the public, at least not yet, so I can't corroborate that part. But with the rating as high as it is, owners should feel confident about safety either way.
This isn't Tesla's first full house. Back in 2013, the Tesla Model S also received a 5-star crash rating from the NHTSA.
The NHTSA focuses its limited funds on crash-testing new cars from the front and side, the two areas that, when hit, are most likely to cause serious injury. The front test simulates a collision between two vehicles at 35 mph each. The side tests simulate intersection collisions and crashes involving roadside items like trees or poles.
Tesla attributes some of this safety rating to basic EV construction. With nearly all of the powertrain's heft as low in the vehicle as possible, it provides for superior rollover resistance. Tesla claims that the Model X has the lowest rollover probability of any SUV on the road, in fact. No matter how you cut it, this is an impressive result for Tesla.
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