Tesla’s Model S fails to get top score in tests by IIHS

Tesla Inc’s Model S did not get the top score in certain tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the agency said yesterday.

Chevrolet Impala, Ford Motor Co’s Taurus and Tesla’s Model S were the three sedans that got “only an acceptable rating” in a test designed to simulate what happens when the front driver-side corner of a vehicle strikes a tree or another vehicle, the IIHS said.

Ford’s Lincoln Continental, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Toyota Motor Corp’s Avalon received the highest rating overall, the agency said.

In the test, the seat belt in Tesla’s Model S was not effective and could lead to the driver’s head striking the steering wheel hard through the air bag, according to the report.

Tesla’s Model S received the highest rating in IIHS’s crash testing in every category except one, the small overlap front crash test, where it received the second highest rating available, a Tesla spokesperson said in an email.

“IIHS and dozens of other private industry groups around the world have methods and motivations that suit their own subjective purposes,” the spokesperson said.

Tesla said the most objective and accurate independent vehicle safety test is done by the US government, which found Model S and Model X to have the lowest probability of injury of any cars that it has ever tested.

In order to get the top IIHS rating, automakers must have a frontal crash prevention system with automatic braking capabilities to prevent a rear-end collision.

The vehicles must stop or slow down without driver intervention before hitting a target in tests at 12 or 25 miles per hour among other factors, IIHS said.

Toyota said in a statement it was committed to developing safe and reliable vehicles.

General Motors Co declined to comment, while Ford and Mercedes were not immediately available for comment.

The IIHS is a research arm of the insurance industry, and its crash tests are increasingly influential in guiding vehicle safety design.

Automakers strive for top ratings in IIHS tests as they do on federal crash tests.

Tesla announced earlier this week that production of its mass-market Model 3 would start today.

In a series of posts on Twitter late on Sunday, CEO Elon Musk said the Model 3 had passed all regulatory requirements for production two weeks ahead of schedule.

“Production grows exponentially, so Aug should be 100 cars and Sept above 1,500,” he said. “Looks like we can reach 20,000 Model 3 cars per month in Dec.”

That is in line with targets Tesla previously set, of more than 5,000 Model 3s per week by the end of this year and 10,000 vehicles per week “at some point in 2018”.

Musk said he expected SN1 — the first car off the assembly line for sale — to be completed today.

Tesla has taken deposits on more than 300,000 Model 3s, starting at $35,000 a vehicle.

The Model 3 marks a turning point for Tesla as it transitions from a niche luxury car manufacturer to a mass producer. The 500,000 vehicles the company plans to make next year is nearly six times its 2016 production.

Reuters reported in February that Tesla shut down production at its California assembly plant for a week to prepare for production of the Model 3 sedan, in order to meet its target of starting production in July.