Tesla took home the highest safety honor from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for the first time in the automaker’s history. That’s right, the Tesla Model 3 earned the 2019 Top Safety Pick+ award from the IIHS after achieving a “good” performance in all six of its crash tests as well as performing well in a headlight test and in a test for its frontal-crash prevention systems. Where does all this testing happen? In the Tesla Crash Lab of course. Read more for a video showing just what happens in the lab.
Earning the 2019 Top Safety Pick+ award is no easy feat, as it reflects a significant endorsement of Tesla’s safety systems, and on in which the Tesla Model S sedan missed by a hair. The Model S was previously tested and performed superbly, but not quite good enough to get the top honor. The Audi e-tron, a competitor to Tesla, was the only other all-electric car to earn the Top Safety Pick+ award, but it’s definitely not in the same price range or category as the Model 3.