Why Tesla's Model Y received a 5-star crash-test rating

• Tesla's Model Y received top marks from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
• The tests indicated excellent performance in front and side collisions and rollovers.
• Ample crumple zones, a fortified chassis helped the Model Y receive a five-star rating.

Following is a transcript of the video.

Narrator: This is Tesla's Model Y acing one of many impact tests. Here it is again and again. The crossover received the highest marks in every test, making it one of the safest crossovers on the road, a similar designation Tesla has seen with the Model 3. But it's no surprise. The Model Y is based mostly on the Model 3's platform, and both cars received a five-star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This is what makes Tesla's first crossover so safe.

In the event of a collision, protecting passenger survival space is paramount, and all modern cars are designed to do so. But EVs have a huge advantage. The absence of an engine provides ample space for a crumple zone in frontal impacts. This can be seen in Model Y's frontal-impact test when the vehicle is slammed headfirst into a barrier at 35 miles per hour. As the hood of the car slams into the barrier, it crumples and absorbs the impact, preventing the passenger cell from collapsing and harming the dummy inside. Since Model Y is larger than Model 3, its body structure has been fortified to account for the additional mass of the vehicle. This results in less of the hood crumpling for the Model Y, creating a larger survival space for occupants.

In side-impact tests, the crossover has significantly less space to absorb the forces of a crash. This is where you can really see Tesla's structure do a lot of heavy lifting. The pillars, side sills, and fortified battery pack mitigate the intrusion of a crash. This gives the side airbag enough time to deploy and cushion the impact on passengers. This is tested in two ways. The first is a side-barrier test, in which a sled that acts as a car is rammed into the driver's side of the Model Y at 38.5 miles per hour. This simulates a T-bone collision. Here you can see just how rigid Model Y's structure is. The sides crumple less than the hood in the frontal crash, again preserving survival space for the occupants. The second test, the side pole impact, simulates an accident with a tree or pole. In this test, the impact is much more concentrated, which pushes the boundaries of a car's structural integrity. The roof and side sills prevent the impact from protruding further into the driver's survival space. While there's no data on Model Y's roof strength, we can look to Model 3 to get a better understanding of how the roof is able to absorb the brunt of the impact in this test. In 2019, the Model 3, the same platform as the Model Y, earned the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any EV the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety had ever tested, resisting more than 20,000 pounds. It's that same rigidity that awarded the Model Y five stars in the side pole test.

At just 7.9%, the Model Y's rollover risk is one of the lowest ever recorded for an SUV by the NHTSA. This is directly related to the car's low center of gravity, thanks to the heavy battery pack that sits on the floor of the vehicle. In Tesla's in-house test, you can see how the Model Y continues to return to an upright position -- even when it's shot off the side of this hill.

For Tesla, safety is engineered into the design of every car. It has been improving the architecture of its vehicles since the Model S in 2012. Building the Model Y from the Model 3's platform all but guaranteed a safe vehicle. The further fortified structure and larger crumple zones are a testament to its commitment to vehicle safety.