Tesla Vehicles Earn Spots On Most Deadly Vehicles List - Model Y Ranks Third Worst

You may have seen advertisements touting Tesla’s safety. For example, Tesla sent an email directly to fans and owners on October 29th saying, “At Tesla Safety Comes Standard.” It’s been a longstanding marketing ploy by Tesla to claim its vehicles are the safest in the world. In laboratory testing, Tesla vehicles have had mixed results. However, recent testing has been mostly favorable for the brand’s top sellers. However, the real-world crash survivability data say otherwise. 

iSeeCars researchers analyzed data published by the National Highway Transportation Administration (NHTSA). The reports it compiles are called the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Cars from model years 2018-2022 involved in crashes that resulted in occupant fatalities between 2017 and 2022 (the latest year data was available) were included in the analysis. You can jump to the NHTSA page where this data is located at this link. 

NHTSA's FARS data is not speculative. It is strictly based on accident reports of fatal accidents. The data are complied from fatal accidents reported in the 50 U.S. states plus Puerto Rico. The reports only include deaths on public roadways (not racetracks). Sources of the data re formal public records like police reports, death certificates, toxicology reports, and EMS reports. You can read about how the data are collected at this link. 

The results of iSeeCars’ analysis show that the Tesla Model Y has earned the third-worst fatal accident rate among all SUVs. Its rate of 10.6 deaths per billion driven miles is about 5 times higher than the average SUV model. The Tesla Model Y is a very high volume model. 

In addition to the Model Y having a much higher than average real-world fatality rate, iSeeCars also found that Tesla has the highest fatality rate overall as a brand. Its score is 5.6 and the industry average is just 2.8. The data clearly indicate that being a Tesla is not safer than being in a different brand. 

Tesla’s flagship model is its relatively low-volume Model S. The Tesla Model S flunked its early crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The model also had trouble after changes were made to make it do better on the standardized tests. The Model S presently has a driver death number of 5.8, about double the average of all cars, which is just 2.8.  

Earlier Reports On Tesla Fatality Rates
This new study by iSeeCars.com should not surprise anyone. Outlets like Fortune, Medium, and the Washington Post have been reporting the same news using various sources for many years. One website tracks every Tesla-related crash that involves a fatality. Insurance companies have long charged more for Tesla vehicles than other similarly-priced models from other brands because they have the actuarial data showing the brand’s real-world crash costs. 

Torque News has done considerable reporting over the past decade on Tesla’s safety - reporting both the bad news and the good news. Feel free to offer your opinions on Tesla’s relative real-world safety in our comments section below. 

John Goreham is a credentialed New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can connect with John on Linkedin and follow his work on our X channel. Please note that stories carrying John's by-line are never AI-generated, but he does employ Grammarly grammar and punctuation software when proofreading. 

Chart at top of page courtesy of iSeeCars.com.