Tesla’s Model S all electric car has received a coveted five star award from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in America.
Joining the ranks of many more established marques, Tesla’s five star rating is an impressive achievement and testament to the designers.
Long has it been stated that electric cars are better suited to occupant safety thanks to their ability to position major – potentially hazardous -components away from occupants, rather than what you tend to expect from a conventional vehicle where key components are often much larger than their electric counterparts and are therefore less easy to position for safety.
The concern over batteries exploding are of course mostly nonsense – when was the last time anybody was afraid to drop their mobile phone because it might explode? In fact greater lengths to safeguard batteries in the event of a collision are taken than automotive manufacturers would normally do to safeguard conventional liquid fuel tanks which are far more explosive in nature due to the volatile fuel they carry.
Below are the official videos taken of the NHTSA crash testing. The Tesla Model S scored a very impressive 5 stars in all three tests – the maximum possible score.
UPDATE:
After posting this article, Tesla published the complete results which show the Model S has scored the highest safety rating for any car, ever tested by the NHTSA. A remarkable achievement for such a young car company. You can read the full article by clicking here.
Source; NHTSA & Safercar.gov for videos.
