Tesla Model 3 earns five-star safety rating across the board

[Shawn Knight]

What just happened? Tesla and founder Elon Musk received good news this week as the NHTSA recently awarded the Model 3 a five-star safety rating across the board. According to Musk, the sedan has the potential to be the safest car ever tested.

Tesla’s rear-wheel drive Model 3 sedan has earned a five-star safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

In testing, the Model 3 earned top marks in all three categories. The frontal crash, which combines front driver side and front passenger side ratings into a single score, simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph. The side barrier testing simulates an intersection collision between a stationary vehicle and a moving barrier at 38.5 mph as well as a side pole barrier test simulating a crash into a fixed object like a utility pole or a tree while the rollover resistance test measures the risk of rollover during a loss-of-control scenario.

In the latter test, the Model 3 earned a rollover resistance score of 6.60 percent.

The low center of gravity created by housing the batteries in the floorboard as well the lack of an engine up front both contribute to the Model 3’s high marks in testing. The Model S and Model X also earned five-star ratings in NHTSA testing.

Elon Musk said on Twitter that the NHTSA will post its final safety probability stats soon, adding that the Model 3 has a shot at being the safest car ever tested.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/76559-tesla-model-3-earns-five-star-safety-rating.html

 

[wiyosaya]

That Five-star rating will be needed when in Autopilot mode.

 

[Kreegir]

That Five-star rating will be needed when in Autopilot mode.

cause it wont be when human drivers do their, far more numerous, stupid **** causing crashes?

 

[wiyosaya]

That Five-star rating will be needed when in Autopilot mode.

cause it wont be when human drivers do their, far more numerous, stupid **** causing crashes?

The autopilot has a habit of running into stationary objects. https://www.techspot.com/community/...ts-police-suv-while-in-autopilot-mode.246915/
If you want to blame the humans for that, be my guest; however, to me, its a pretty stupid thing to do when you cannot get the human to respond. Suppose the human had a seizure or something? The autopilot's answer is to crash into something? Right. Absolutely the right thing to do!

 

[ShObiT]

That Five-star rating will be needed when in Autopilot mode.

cause it wont be when human drivers do their, far more numerous, stupid **** causing crashes?

The autopilot has a habit of running into stationary objects. https://www.techspot.com/community/...ts-police-suv-while-in-autopilot-mode.246915/
If you want to blame the humans for that, be my guest; however, to me, its a pretty stupid thing to do when you cannot get the human to respond. Suppose the human had a seizure or something? The autopilot's answer is to crash into something? Right. Absolutely the right thing to do!

Oh, the good old Seizure example, So many seizures in the streets nowadays. If they were actually so common many people would be dying every hour cause there's no autopilot to save them.

 

[senketsu]

What I'd like to know is how likely there is to be a battery fire

 

[m4a4]

That Five-star rating will be needed when in Autopilot mode.

cause it wont be when human drivers do their, far more numerous, stupid **** causing crashes?

The autopilot has a habit of running into stationary objects. https://www.techspot.com/community/...ts-police-suv-while-in-autopilot-mode.246915/
If you want to blame the humans for that, be my guest; however, to me, its a pretty stupid thing to do when you cannot get the human to respond. Suppose the human had a seizure or something? The autopilot's answer is to crash into something? Right. Absolutely the right thing to do!

Your bias is showing (again). Habit? Show me actual stats where "autopilot has a habit of running into stationary objects", as you claim. 1 example is laughable when hundreds of examples of humans driving into stationary objects can be cited lol

Oh, the good old Seizure example, So many seizures in the streets nowadays. If they were actually so common many people would be dying every hour cause there's no autopilot to save them.

Yeah, he likes using that one, it doesn't make sense. If the option before autopilot during a seizure was "crash", then who in their right mind would hate on autopilot for not doing anything more?
You can't put unrealistic expectations on it, then get mad when it doesn't meet those expectations.

 

[wiyosaya]

That Five-star rating will be needed when in Autopilot mode.

cause it wont be when human drivers do their, far more numerous, stupid **** causing crashes?

The autopilot has a habit of running into stationary objects. https://www.techspot.com/community/...ts-police-suv-while-in-autopilot-mode.246915/
If you want to blame the humans for that, be my guest; however, to me, its a pretty stupid thing to do when you cannot get the human to respond. Suppose the human had a seizure or something? The autopilot's answer is to crash into something? Right. Absolutely the right thing to do!

Your bias is showing (again). Habit? Show me actual stats where "autopilot has a habit of running into stationary objects", as you claim. 1 example is laughable when hundreds of examples of humans driving into stationary objects can be cited lol

Oh, the good old Seizure example, So many seizures in the streets nowadays. If they were actually so common many people would be dying every hour cause there's no autopilot to save them.

Yeah, he likes using that one, it doesn't make sense. If the option before autopilot during a seizure was "crash", then who in their right mind would hate on autopilot for not doing anything more?
You can't put unrealistic expectations on it, then get mad when it doesn't meet those expectations.

No, you can't reasonably expect the car to pull over and stop safely when it has no driver input. Why that would be impossible for the car.

You guys should really learn to think instead of buying Tesla's propaganda.

As to 1 instance of crashing into stationary objects - I suggest reading the story at the link again because there is more than one in the article. Otherwise, don't bother trying your ad-hominem attack again. As for another instance - https://jalopnik.com/tesla-sales-staff-told-driver-in-model-s-crash-that-car-1828862504
There's three here - https://www.wired.com/story/tesla-autopilot-why-crash-radar/

Oh, right. I forgot. It is unreasonable to expect a car equipped with Autopilot to pull off to the side of the road, safely, when it does not receive input from the driver.

Tesla would be proud to have both of you as customers.

SMH

 

[wiyosaya]

What I'd like to know is how likely there is to be a battery fire

Since its a lithium battery, if it gets punctured, there will be a fire.

 

[Lew Zealand]

OK, lemme get this straight. People having seizures should use Autopilot mode and crash, puncturing the batteries and causing a fire.

No wonder Musk smokes weed on TV.

 

[m4a4]

No, you can't reasonably expect the car to pull over and stop safely when it has no driver input. Why that would be impossible for the car.
You guys should really learn to think instead of buying Tesla's propaganda.
As to 1 instance of crashing into stationary objects - I suggest reading the story at the link again because there is more than one in the article. Otherwise, don't bother trying your ad-hominem attack again. As for another instance - https://jalopnik.com/tesla-sales-staff-told-driver-in-model-s-crash-that-car-1828862504
There's three here - https://www.wired.com/story/tesla-autopilot-why-crash-radar/
Oh, right. I forgot. It is unreasonable to expect a car equipped with Autopilot to pull off to the side of the road, safely, when it does not receive input from the driver.
Tesla would be proud to have both of you as customers.
SMH

If it's not a feature to do so, then why would I expect it to be?
You sound like the type of person who would try to sue someone because you didn't understand what the product could and couldn't do (and autopilot is very much not advertised to take over for an unconscious/inattentive person).

Ad-hominem? Lol, I'm demanding stats to backup your biased claim. I'm not calling you biased and telling people you shouldn't be trusted because of it. Try again, and pick terms that you know.

And you have yet to show stats that show it's a habit of these cars (as you claim). It's great and all that you have a few examples, but it really doesn't mean much without the context that I'm asking for.

You can shake your head all you want (and hype up your examples and rhetoric), but it won't make the facts lean in your biased favor.

 

[MasterMace]

That Five-star rating will be needed when in Autopilot mode.

cause it wont be when human drivers do their, far more numerous, stupid **** causing crashes?

The autopilot has a habit of running into stationary objects. https://www.techspot.com/community/...ts-police-suv-while-in-autopilot-mode.246915/
If you want to blame the humans for that, be my guest; however, to me, its a pretty stupid thing to do when you cannot get the human to respond. Suppose the human had a seizure or something? The autopilot's answer is to crash into something? Right. Absolutely the right thing to do!

If a person has a seizure, their driver's license is suspended for at least 6 months. Because it's not safe for them to drive. Autopilot requires a driver. No autopilot system is perfect.

The rate that the Tesla autopilot system has accidents is vastly lower than people.

This is the same stupid, baseless argument that was made when there was a car fire from the battery being punctured by a road hazard.

 

[MasterMace]

What I'd like to know is how likely there is to be a battery fire

Since its a lithium battery, if it gets punctured, there will be a fire.

If the gas tank gets punctured, there will be a fire. A big one. Likely an explosion too. Gasoline is much less safe to operate with than a battery.

 

[captaincranky]

cause it wont be when human drivers do their, far more numerous, stupid **** causing crashes?

As "a human driver", how would you rate yourself?

Or don't you have your license yet?

 

[senketsu]

If the gas tank gets punctured, there will be a fire. A big one. Likely an explosion too. Gasoline is much less safe to operate with than a battery.

Since the Ford Pinto, we haven't had much problem with gasoline vehicles. Lithium batteries have problems, I'm sure if electric vehicles proliferate that we will be more knowledgeable and better equipped for fires. Right now tho…..

From the volunteer firefighting team, called Feuerwehr-Landeck, after dealing with a crashed Tesla. "The organization writes in its press release how the group of five vehicles and 35 people brought the electric vehicle’s fire under control, saying (translated from German):
The fire fighting - which could only be carried out under severe respiratory protection - was difficult because the vehicle was repeatedly on fire. It was only after cutting the power supply from the high-performance batteries that it was possible to finally fight the fire. Since lithium batteries are used, the manufacturer recommends that the vehicle be parked under “quarantine” for 48 hours, so that no new fire can break out.
Tesla publishes emergency response guides for all of its vehicles to help fire departments properly handle accidents involving the high-voltage cars. In the firefighting section of the Model S guide, the company mentions that—because burning lithium-ion batteries release “toxic vapors” including “sulfuric acid, oxides of carbon, nickel, lithium, copper and cobalt”—responders need to wear self contained breathing apparatuses. The section also mentions that, to extinguish a burning battery, responders have to “use large amounts of water to cool the battery.”

 

[MasterMace]

A quick Google search would show you that on average, from 2010-2015, there are 175,000 vehicle fires per year, vs the 40 Tesla fires total up till March of this year. Compared to the 7.5billion miles driven by the 300,000 Tesla cars, driving a Tesla is a dozen times less likely to catch fire.

Does a firefighter need to wear a mask because of toxic fumes? Yes. In both a battery fire and a fuel tank fire. 1.6% of car fires per year are fuel tank fires. That's on average 2800 per year. Which means youll see, in the US alone, more car fires in a week than you will in all of Tesla's history.

The difference between a gas powered vs Tesla is that the Teslas warn you when theres a fire, letting a driver pull over safely, get out of the vehicle, and leave. Most gas powered fires occur in the engine. And most people dont notice a problem until there is smoke or flames shooting past the hood.

So where you see 6 total deaths, and 6 injuries, where a Tesla was in a crash and caught fire, which includes

2014 a stolen tesla fleeing the police smashed into a telephone pole, split in half and injured 2 officers and the driver, and the tesla caught fire
2015 a tesla plunged off a cliff in California killing the driver and catching fire
2016 a speeding drunk driver swerved to avoid a wrong way driver and smashed a Tesla into a tree, bouncing it around after killing the driver and passenger
2017 a tesla smashed into a house setting the garage on fire, injuring the driver
2018 a tesla on autopilot warned a driver to keep his hands on the wheel and 5 seconds 150ft later, with no driver action taken it smashed into a concrete divider, killing the driver and catching fire
2018 a tesla drove off the road and smashed into a concrete wall, killing 2 and injuring 1, also caught fire.

-Ive literally listed every death involving a tesla and the tesla catching fire, and every one of them involved a violent collision. At least 8 of the 40 fires involved a violent collision.-

How do you figure that 'we'll see more as more come out'? Because this list narrowed to 32 on 7.5billion miles driven, (4.26 per billion miles vs gas vehicles 55 per billion miles driven).

 

[cliffordcooley]

How do you figure that 'we'll see more as more come out'?

Because with a higher mass production, prices will come down, and components will be made with cheaper grade supplies. That is a given in factory work if you haven't noticed. Quality is less of a concern with higher production factories. It is lower prices from demand that dictates lessor quality. At the moment Tesla can still make quality vehicles because he still has people willing to pay for the quality components.

 

[captaincranky]

Because with a higher mass production, prices will come down, and components will be made with cheaper grade supplies. That is a given in factory work if you haven't noticed. Quality is less of a concern with higher production factories. It is lower prices from demand that dictates lessor quality.

Tesla is operating at a substantial loss, at least for the time being. By all accounts, they couldn't cheapen up the interiors more than they already have. Obviously, the batteries are the single most expensive component, and a tempting first choice / target, for using less expensive units.

With that said, we all live in danger of toxic and possibly lethal fumes, from plastics involved in building construction. Some plastics release hydrogen cyanide when burned, a compound very similar to the one used in the good old gas chambers of old.
https://www.firehouse.com/rescue/article/10502165/hydrogen-cyanide-the-real-killer-among-fire-gases

By the way, hydrogen cyanide was formerly marketed as an insecticide, under the trade name, "Zyklon B".

Besides, "the nanny state", has managed to inflict, "risk of certain cancers and possible reproductive harm", on the label of practically every compound known to man.

...[ ]....At the moment Tesla can still make quality vehicles because he still has people willing to pay for the quality components.

I do so hate to bring this up, and even more abhorrent to me, is the fact I'm about to grammar Nazi you; but, you can't introduce a gendered pronoun to refer to the Tesla Motor Corporation. You have your choice of reiterating the proper noun, "Tesla", or the neuter gender pronoun, "it".

Now if you meant "Musk", you have to be assuming Musk is Tesla, and you are trying to avoid it, since you know as soon as you invoked the, "name of the one whose name can not be spoken", I would be lurking nearby.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Now if you meant "Musk", you have to be assuming Musk is Tesla, and you are trying to avoid it, since you know as soon as you invoked the, "name of the one whose name can not be spoken", I would be lurking nearby.

Yes that. But no I mean Tesla. Musk is not the only personnel making Tesla vehicles. In fact I suspect he doesn't build any of them.

 

[Nobina]

I hope that Autopilot won't make people careless cause they know there's a safety feature in a car. Probably won't happen tho.

 

[iamcts]

A quick Google search would show you that on average, from 2010-2015, there are 175,000 vehicle fires per year, vs the 40 Tesla fires total up till March of this year. Compared to the 7.5billion miles driven by the 300,000 Tesla cars, driving a Tesla is a dozen times less likely to catch fire.

Does a firefighter need to wear a mask because of toxic fumes? Yes. In both a battery fire and a fuel tank fire. 1.6% of car fires per year are fuel tank fires. That's on average 2800 per year. Which means youll see, in the US alone, more car fires in a week than you will in all of Tesla's history.

The difference between a gas powered vs Tesla is that the Teslas warn you when theres a fire, letting a driver pull over safely, get out of the vehicle, and leave. Most gas powered fires occur in the engine. And most people dont notice a problem until there is smoke or flames shooting past the hood.

So where you see 6 total deaths, and 6 injuries, where a Tesla was in a crash and caught fire, which includes

2014 a stolen tesla fleeing the police smashed into a telephone pole, split in half and injured 2 officers and the driver, and the tesla caught fire
2015 a tesla plunged off a cliff in California killing the driver and catching fire
2016 a speeding drunk driver swerved to avoid a wrong way driver and smashed a Tesla into a tree, bouncing it around after killing the driver and passenger
2017 a tesla smashed into a house setting the garage on fire, injuring the driver
2018 a tesla on autopilot warned a driver to keep his hands on the wheel and 5 seconds 150ft later, with no driver action taken it smashed into a concrete divider, killing the driver and catching fire
2018 a tesla drove off the road and smashed into a concrete wall, killing 2 and injuring 1, also caught fire.

-Ive literally listed every death involving a tesla and the tesla catching fire, and every one of them involved a violent collision. At least 8 of the 40 fires involved a violent collision.-

How do you figure that 'we'll see more as more come out'? Because this list narrowed to 32 on 7.5billion miles driven, (4.26 per billion miles vs gas vehicles 55 per billion miles driven).

People don't like facts like this.

You might cause some people here to have a mental breakdown when they realize their preconceived opinions aren't as strong as they try to make them.

 

[wiyosaya]

A quick Google search would show you that on average, from 2010-2015, there are 175,000 vehicle fires per year, vs the 40 Tesla fires total up till March of this year. Compared to the 7.5billion miles driven by the 300,000 Tesla cars, driving a Tesla is a dozen times less likely to catch fire.

Does a firefighter need to wear a mask because of toxic fumes? Yes. In both a battery fire and a fuel tank fire. 1.6% of car fires per year are fuel tank fires. That's on average 2800 per year. Which means youll see, in the US alone, more car fires in a week than you will in all of Tesla's history.

The difference between a gas powered vs Tesla is that the Teslas warn you when theres a fire, letting a driver pull over safely, get out of the vehicle, and leave. Most gas powered fires occur in the engine. And most people dont notice a problem until there is smoke or flames shooting past the hood.

So where you see 6 total deaths, and 6 injuries, where a Tesla was in a crash and caught fire, which includes

2014 a stolen tesla fleeing the police smashed into a telephone pole, split in half and injured 2 officers and the driver, and the tesla caught fire
2015 a tesla plunged off a cliff in California killing the driver and catching fire
2016 a speeding drunk driver swerved to avoid a wrong way driver and smashed a Tesla into a tree, bouncing it around after killing the driver and passenger
2017 a tesla smashed into a house setting the garage on fire, injuring the driver
2018 a tesla on autopilot warned a driver to keep his hands on the wheel and 5 seconds 150ft later, with no driver action taken it smashed into a concrete divider, killing the driver and catching fire
2018 a tesla drove off the road and smashed into a concrete wall, killing 2 and injuring 1, also caught fire.

-Ive literally listed every death involving a tesla and the tesla catching fire, and every one of them involved a violent collision. At least 8 of the 40 fires involved a violent collision.-

How do you figure that 'we'll see more as more come out'? Because this list narrowed to 32 on 7.5billion miles driven, (4.26 per billion miles vs gas vehicles 55 per billion miles driven).

I love it when people quote statistics. I am sure Tesla would love to hire you for their marketing department.

BTW - you missed the instances where Teslas in autopilot mode slammed into fire trucks. Just how do you miss a fire truck?

 

[wiyosaya]

If it's not a feature to do so, then why would I expect it to be?

Because it should be for simple safety reasons.

Further, some car manufacturers like Toyota, for instance, have crash avoidance built-in. Why, then, please tell me, do Teslas with autopilot engaged crash into things? Tesla is living in the stone age.

Go buy that Tesla - if you haven't already.

 

[iamcts]

I love it when people quote statistics. I am sure Tesla would love to hire you for their marketing department.

BTW - you missed the instances where Teslas in autopilot mode slammed into fire trucks. Just how do you miss a fire truck?

So because you get to add something else to the list, you're still going to write off the whole brand and Autopilot? What an awful way to argue your point. Even Google's Waymo brand isn't perfect, but you'd probably still be willing to write them off too because they've had minor accidents.

Autopilot or any self-driving software will always be better than your average driver. For every thing that Autopilot gets wrong, your average driver will get it wrong 100 times.

 

[captaincranky]

Yes that. But no I mean Tesla. Musk is not the only personnel making Tesla vehicles. In fact I suspect he doesn't build any of them.

Ironically, I've always thought of Musk as a "carnival barker".

So, you can only imagine my delight when I learned the Tesla's Model 3's, were being built, "under the big top", so to speak.

As for Musk participating in the actual construction of those vehicles, I doubt if he knows a wrench from a screwdriver, or has ever actually gotten his hands dirty. He's busy "imagining sh!t", and likely hasn't even walked by a drawing board, let alone pick up a pencil..

But, to the upside, his expulsion of massive amounts of hot air is likely what keeps the tent inflated, so at least he's good for something.