Tesla the safest? This research shows otherwise
A report on the safety of Tesla electric cars has just been published. The cars that Elon Musk advertised as the safest under the sun – are not necessarily worthy of their advertising slogan.
More text below the video
Tesla cars in record number of fatal accidents
The iSeeCars.com portal (search engine for car auctions and websites) has compiled a report on the safety of individual car brands. The analysis was based on statistics from the US Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
According to the report Tesla cars have the largest statistical share in fatal accidentsoutperforming brands such as Kia, Buick, Dodge and Hyundai, respectively.
Analysis is unable to determine whether the high rate of fatal accidents in this case is a reflection of drivers’ driving habits or whether the fault lies with the vehicle design.
“The factor that most influences passenger safety is collision avoidance drivers’ behavior contributes most to this” – said Karl Brauer, senior analyst at iSeeCars. “A focused, alert driver traveling within the speed limit and not under the influence of drugs or alcohol has the best chance of avoiding an accident, regardless of the car he or she drives.”
Nevertheless, the analysis is consistent with previous reports, in which Lending Tree (a car leasing and mortgage company) showed in December 2023 that Tesla cars were involved in the highest number of accidents of all brands (23.54 accidents per 1,000 drivers)and only two other brands (Ram Trucks and Subaru) exceeded the rate of 20.00 accidents per 1,000 drivers.
Interestingly, another analysis, this time by EpicVIN (which records information related to the history of vehicles), shows that drivers of Tesla cars are the least likely to die as a result of a car accident.
So if we combine the conclusions from the iSeeCars, Lending Tree and EpicVIN reports, They show that Teslas are the cars most frequently involved in fatal accidents, but their drivers are also the people who are least likely to die in these accidents.
Ultimately, it is difficult to conclude whether the main reason for this trend is driver behavior or Tesla’s functionality. The latter is being questioned from a safety perspective, as 2022 statistics from the US Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that in 70% of crashes involving Teslas, drivers were using driver assistance systems, including Autopilot.
