This year, more than three dozen vehicles received Top Safety Pick+ from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The Tesla Model S and BMW i3 were not among that group.
Both the Model S and i3 fell short of the IIHS' top accolade. In order to be eligible for TSP+, vehicles must score "Good" in all five crash tests, and they must also contain some degree of forward crash protection.
Tesla missed the mark in two different ways, actually. First, it only received a score of "Acceptable" in the difficult small overlap front test, which mimics contacting a telephone pole or similar. The IIHS report states that the Model S' seatbelt allowed the dummy to move too far forward during the crash, and its head hit the steering wheel through the airbag.
