What made the Tesla Model X the first SUV with a perfect crash test rating
Published on Jan 15, 2026 at 3:09 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Jan 15, 2026 at 3:09 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Claire Reid
In 2017, the Tesla Model X made history after it became the world’s first SUV to be awarded a perfect crash test rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) – and it’s mostly down to one smart design feature.
Tesla launched the Model X in 2015, and just one year later, it was the seventh best-selling plug-in car on the planet.
A year on, the NHTSA gave the Model X five stars across the board when it came to safety – the first SUV in history to earn such a rating.
At the time, Tesla said the EV was ‘engineered to be the safest SUV ever’. Here’s what made it stand out.
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Here’s what made the Tesla Model X the ‘safest SUV ever’
Tesla has a solid performance when it comes to safety ratings.
Back in July, the Model 3 was named the safest new car in the Euro NCAP 2025 testing cycle, while the Cybertruck was awarded a ‘good’ rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety after crash testing.
And back in 2017, its Model X was announced as the first ever SUV to be awarded top marks at the NHTSA crash testing.
The NHTSA looked at six categories: frontal driver; frontal passenger; side driver; side passenger; side pole driver; and rollover – as well as an overall score.
After testing, the Model X earned five stars in all categories.
“We engineered Model X to be the safest SUV ever, and today, [NHTSA] announced that after conducting independent testing, it has awarded Model X a 5-star safety rating in every category and sub-category, making it the first SUV ever to earn the 5-star rating across the board,” Tesla said in a statement at the time.
While SUVs generally score pretty well during crash testing due to their size, they often have an issue with rollovers as they have a higher center of gravity.
Tesla said it was able to combat this in the Model X by placing its large battery pack on the floor of the EV, giving the car a lower center of gravity and making it less likely to rollover if it was involved in a crash.
“The rigid, fortified battery pack that powers Model X is mounted beneath the floor of the vehicle creating a center of gravity so low that Model X has the lowest rollover probability of any SUV on the road,” the carmaker said.
But that wasn’t the only smart safety feature
Alongside that, as the SUV is an all-electric, the front of the car isn’t used to store its engine or any mechanical elements.
This means that space can be used as a crumple zone and is able to absorb any energy caused by the impact of a head-on collision.
The Model X also has specially designed side sills and pillars that help to absorb energy in a crash and keep the occupants safe.
Of course, the Tesla also comes with a bunch of other standard safety features, like automatic braking and collision avoidance systems, which all add up to make it one serious safe SUV.
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
