Tesla has announced that its Model 3 electric vehicle has received a perfect 5-star safety rating across the board from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The body’s tests also showed that the Model 3 has the lowest probability of injury of all cars that it has ever tested, this title was previously held by the Model S with the Model X coming in second, they’ve now shifted to second and third place respectively.
Commenting on car safety claims, Tesla said:
“Many companies try to build cars that perform well in crash tests, and every car company claims their vehicles are safe. But when a crash happens in real life, these test results show that if you are driving a Tesla, you have the best chance of avoiding serious injury.”
In its assessment, the NHTSA tested the Model 3 Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive in its New Car Assessment Program, a series of crash tests that find "the likelihood of serious bodily injury for front, side, and rollover crashes". The NHTSA determined the probability of injury in the Model 3 was around 5.7% while this increased to roughly 6.4% in the Model S and 6.5% in the Model X.
Tesla outlined several reasons for the strong safety performance of the vehicle, they include having the battery pack and electric motors as close to the ground as possible which gives the car a very low center of gravity, having the lowest intrusion rates from side pole impacts, and an efficient front crumple zone designed to decelerate occupants.
Tesla recently released the latest software update to all Model 3, Model S, and Model X vehicles in North America. It included several new features including games and a new app launcher for easier use.