Elon Musk tries to present Tesla cars as “the safest cars on the road”. However, a new analysis of federal data aims to show that Musk’s company actually has the highest rate of fatal crashes of any automotive brand.
The analysis, prepared by the automotive search engine iSeeCars, cites fatality statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), which claim that Tesla has “the highest fatal crash rate among brands, followed by Kia, Buick, Dodge, and Hyundai.”
The report also states: “As with the model ratings, it is possible that these high fatal crash rates reflect driver behavior as much or more than vehicle design.” In other words, Teslas may not have any special characteristics that make them more dangerous. It could be that Tesla drivers are simply more prone to crashing or getting into accidents.
“The biggest contributor to passenger safety is crash avoidance, and the biggest factor in crash avoidance is driver behavior,” says Carl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars. “A focused, attentive driver who drives at the posted or reasonable speed limit and is not under the influence of drugs or alcohol is more likely to reach their destination safely, regardless of the vehicle they are driving.”
The study of Tesla’s car safety issues is ongoing and does not provide a particularly coherent picture. Indeed, a similar report published in August by vehicle history information provider EpicVIN claimed that of all car brands, Tesla drivers are the least likely to be fatally injured. If both this report and the iSeeCars report are to be believed, this means that Tesla drivers are the most likely to be involved in fatal accidents, but the least likely to die in those accidents. Like iSeeCars, EpicVIN cites NHTSA FAR data to make these claims.
A study published by auto lending and mortgage giant Lending Tree in December 2023 claims that Tesla drivers have the highest accident rate of any brand. The study cites data from November 14, 2022 to November 14, 2023 and claims that “Tesla drivers had 23.54 crashes per 1,000 drivers,” while noting that only two other brands – Ram and Subaru – had “more than 20.00 crashes per 1,000 drivers.”
Tesla’s reliance on automated software is seen as a potential safety issue. In a 2022 report published by the NHTSA, it claims that Tesla accounted for about 70 percent of car accidents involving driver assistance systems in the previous twelve-month period. Tesla’s driver assistance feature, Autopilot, has often been criticized, and regulators have suggested that it may play a role in accidents. For example, last April, the NHTSA published another report claiming that Tesla’s Autopilot feature has a “critical safety gap” that could be linked to hundreds of accidents. An analysis by the Washington Post last summer also found that Tesla’s autopilot feature was involved in 17 fatalities and 736 accidents since 2019. The newspaper again cited NHTSA statistics.
Tesla is one of several Musk companies currently under investigation by federal authorities. The car company is currently being investigated by both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Department of Justice. However, Musk’s new tenure as a federal bureaucrat at the “government efficiency agency” could complicate many of these investigations.
