Car manufacturer Tesla is trying to do some serious damage control, as one exec has branded a recent study naming some of its vehicles among the most dangerous you can own as 'clickbait'.
Elon Musk's electric car brand has become one of the most infamous out there, but not always for the right reasons - There's been reports of passengers becoming trapped in Teslas, whilst other unwelcome headlines talk about 'runaway' Teslas causing chaos.
This was made worse in a November 2024 report where iSeeCars named Tesla's Model Y and Model S vehicles among some of the most dangerous you can own.
The company apparently used fatality data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) for model-year cars from 2018-2022, analyzing crashes with at least one occupant fatality.
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Looking at the fatal accident rate per billion vehicle miles, there are supposedly the top five brands:
- Tesla (5.62)
- Kia (5.53)
- Buick (4.84)
- Dodge (4.45)
- Hyundai (3.9)
iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer said that while modern cars are safer than older ones, distracted drivers should be blamed for some incidents: "New cars are safer than they’ve ever been. Between advanced chassis design, driver assist technology, and an array of airbags surrounding the driver, today’s car models provide excellent occupant protection.
"But these safety features are being countered by distracted driving and higher rates of speed, leading to rising accident and death rates in recent years."
These claims are something that Lars Moravy, Vice President for Vehicle Technology, disagrees with. Posting on X, Moravy said: "This math is incorrect - crash test data is real; Teslas are among the safest cars."
He says that there's a 'bad denominator' in the per-mile calculation and adds that iSeeCars isn't a safety regulator.
It's true that there have been some impressive safety ratings in the past, with the Model Y joining Tesla’s other three vehicles in getting a five-star safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2021.
The NHTSA's own study also claimed that Tesla vehicles were among the least likely to be involved in an accident.
Still, May 2024 saw Tesla recall over 125,000 vehicles amid worries about malfunctions with the seat belt warning system.
This hit Model S cars between 2012 and 2024, Model X Teslas from 2015 to 2024, Model 3s manufactured between 2017 and 2023, and Model Y vehicles from 2020 to 2023.
If that wasn't enough, the EV maker also recalled 4,000 Cybertrucks over apparent issues with accelerator pedals getting stuck.
This was followed by a recall of 27,000 Cybertrucks over problems with the rearview camera.
Tesla stands by its safety, with a Q3 2024 vehicle safety report suggesting its cars operating with autopilot are far less likely to crash than the national average.