Tesla's chief engineer, Lars Moravy, is actively countering claims from a recent report that states Teslas have the highest fatality crash rate among all vehicles. He argues that the report's conclusions are misleading.
Report Overview
The report examined data from the federal U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), which is managed by the NHTSA. It focused on accidents involving cars from the 2018 to 2022 model years that resulted in at least one death, either for drivers or passengers.
In this analysis, Tesla emerged as the brand with the highest fatality crash rate overall. Although the Hyundai Venue held the worst record for individual models, the Model S had a fatality rate that was twice the average, while the popular Model Y of Tesla had a crash death rate nearly four times higher than average. This placed it among the top 10 most dangerous vehicles in the U.S., according to the study.
Issues with Comparisons
However, while it may seem accurate to label Tesla as having the highest fatality rate based on the FARS data, this comparison is flawed. Tesla has significantly fewer models on the market compared to other manufacturers, which often offer a wider range of vehicles.
In defense of Tesla, Moravy asserted, “the math is incorrect - crash test data is real; Teslas are among the safest cars.” He suggested that the calculations might suffer from a poor denominator, noting that by the end of 2022, U.S. model year miles driven exceeded 7 billion, with the Model 3 alone at around 19 billion. While Tesla’s safety data from crash tests is indeed impressive, it doesn't necessarily explain the fatality rates in real-world accidents, which could be influenced by many factors.
Additional Information
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