Top Safety Pick +Top Safety Pick criteria

2021 Tesla Model Y

midsize luxury SUV / 4-door SUV

Award applies only to vehicles built after April 2021

Fully electric
2021 Tesla Model Y 4-door SUV

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Small overlap front: passenger-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Headlights (varies by trim/option)
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Standard system (built after April 2021)
Superior
Front crash prevention: pedestrian (day)
Standard system (built after April 2021)
Superior

Seat belts & child restraints

LATCH ease of use

Other available safety features

  • Standard blind spot detection
  • Standard lane departure warning & prevention

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2020-24 models

Tested vehicle: 2021 Tesla Model Y Long Range 4-door 4wd

The Tesla Model Y was introduced in the 2020 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the driver-side small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained very well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury.

The driver's space was maintained well, and risk of injuries to the dummy's legs and feet was low.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEN2108
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 1
Footrest (cm) 1
Left toepan (cm) 1
Brake pedal (cm) 1
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 0
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 0
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 1
Upper dash (cm) 2
Lower instrument panel (cm) 1

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEN2108
Head
HIC-15 22
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.6
Extension bending moment (Nm) 9
Maximum Nij 0.14
Chest maximum compression (mm) 17
Femur (kN)
Left 0.2
Right 0.2
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 0
Right 0
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.47
Right 0.61
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 0.7
Right 0.2
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 22
Right 20

About the small overlap front test

Small overlap front: passenger-side

Rating applies to 2020-24 models

Tested vehicle: 2021 Tesla Model Y Long Range 4-door 4wd

The Tesla Model Y was introduced in the 2020 model year. Passenger-side small overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test of a 2021 Model Y conducted by Tesla.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on passenger side

Test ID VTP2117
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 4
Footrest (cm) 3
Right toepan (cm) 2
Center toepan (cm) 2
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 0
Upper occupant compartment
Center dash (cm) 2
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 2
Upper dash (cm) 2
Right lower dash (cm) 2

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTP2117
Head
HIC-15 39
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.9
Extension bending moment (Nm) 11
Maximum Nij 0.21
Chest maximum compression (mm) 15
Femur (kN)
Left 0.5
Right 0.9
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 0
Right 0
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.32
Right 0.49
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 0.7
Right 0.7
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 20
Right 17

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTP2117
Head
HIC-15 18
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.7
Extension bending moment (Nm) 8
Maximum Nij 0.14
Chest maximum compression (mm) 17
Femur (kN)
Left 0.3
Right 0.2
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 0
Right 0
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.49
Right 0.27
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 0.3
Right 0.1
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 23
Right 30

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2020-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2021 Tesla Model Y Long Range 4-door 4wd

The Tesla Model Y was introduced in the 2020 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the moderate overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained very well.

Smeared greasepaint indicates where the dummy's head contacted the side curtain airbag during rebound.

Intrusion into the driver's space was minimal, and all leg and foot injury measures were low.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEF2119
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 1
Left (cm) 2
Center (cm) 3
Right (cm) 2
Brake pedal (cm) 2
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 1
Right (cm) 0
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) -2
Rearward (cm) -6
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 0

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEF2119
Head
HIC-15 107
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.7
Extension bending moment (Nm) 8
Maximum Nij 0.17
Chest maximum compression (mm) 18
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 0.2
Femur force - right (kN) 0.6
Knee displacement - left (mm) 0
Knee displacement - right (mm) 0
Maximum tibia index - left 0.16
Maximum tibia index - right 0.22
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 1.2
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 1.1
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 47
Right 44

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2020-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2021 Tesla Model Y Long Range 4-door 4wd

The Tesla Model Y was introduced in the 2020 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side airbags.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CES2112
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -27.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID CES2112
Head HIC-15 120
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.9
Compression (kN) 0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 30
Lateral force (kN) 0.9
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 36
Average deflection (mm) 31
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.91
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.52
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.7
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.0
Combined force (kN) 1.7
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.3
L-M moment (Nm) 46
A-P moment (Nm) -26

Passenger injury measures

Test ID CES2112
Head HIC-15 146
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.6
Compression (kN) 0.3
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 17
Lateral force (kN) 1.1
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 24
Average deflection (mm) 15
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 2.48
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.25
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.9
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.3
Combined force (kN) 2.1
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.3
L-M moment (Nm) 32
A-P moment (Nm) -47

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2020-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2021 Tesla Model Y Long Range 4-door 4wd

Overall evaluation
Curb weight4,342 lbs
Peak force19,188 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio4.42

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Power leather seat

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Power leather seat
Geometry
Backset (mm) 25
Distance below top of head (mm) -8
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 13.1
Head contact time (ms) 56
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 0
Max neck tension (N) 179

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Headlights

Ratings are given for 2 different headlight variations available on this vehicle.

Trim level(s)

  • Performance trim
Low-beam headlight typeLED projector
High-beam headlight typeLED projector
Curve-adaptive?No
High-beam assist?Yes
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination High-beam assist credit

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was good in all 4 tests.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was good on the gradual left and gradual right curves and fair on the sharp right and sharp left curves.

High-beam assist compensates for some limitations of this vehicle's low beams on the straightaway and on the sharp left curve.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • Performance trim
Low-beam headlight type LED projector
High-beam headlight type LED projector
Curve-adaptive? No
High-beam assist? Yes
Overall rating
Applies to 2021-24 models
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)		 Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 97.2 m None
Straightaway left edge 73.9 m None
250m radius right curve, right edge 89.2 m None
250m radius left curve, left edge 70.5 m None
150m radius right curve, right edge 71.4 m None
150m radius left curve, left edge 55.6 m None
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 167.0 m
Straightaway left edge 155.8 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 88.2 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 80.6 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 64.8 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 61.1 m

Trim level(s)

  • Long Range trim
Low-beam headlight typeLED reflector
High-beam headlight typeLED reflector
Curve-adaptive?No
High-beam assist?Yes
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination High-beam assist credit Some glare

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was fair on the sharp left and both right curves and inadequate on the gradual left curve.

The low beams created some glare.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was good on the gradual right and gradual left curves and fair on the sharp right and sharp left curves.

High-beam assist compensates for some limitations of this vehicle's low beams on the straightaway, on both left curves and on both right curves.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • Long Range trim
Low-beam headlight type LED reflector
High-beam headlight type LED reflector
Curve-adaptive? No
High-beam assist? Yes
Overall rating
Applies to 2021-23 models
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)		 Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 94.4 m 15.8%
Straightaway left edge 60.0 m 15.8%
250m radius right curve, right edge 62.3 m None
250m radius left curve, left edge 52.5 m None
150m radius right curve, right edge 54.1 m None
150m radius left curve, left edge 45.1 m None
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 176.7 m
Straightaway left edge 155.7 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 80.0 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 77.7 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 62.7 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 59.4 m

About the headlight evaluation

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

System details

  • Standard Automatic Emergency Braking

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2021 models built after April 2021

Superior
Superior
  • This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

About the original front crash prevention test

Front crash prevention: pedestrian (day)

System details

  • standard Automatic Emergency Braking

Overall evaluation

This rating applies to all 2021 models built after April 2021

Superior
Superior

Crossing child

  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

Crossing adult

  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

Parallel adult

  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 37 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision. A warning was issued 2.9 seconds before impact.

About the pedestrian front crash prevention test

Child seat anchors

Rating applies to 2020-24 models

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim
Seat type leather

This vehicle has 2 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.

It has 1 additional seating position with a tether anchor only.

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim
Seat type leather
1 2 3
GGood
AAcceptable
MMarginal
PPoor
Seating positions that rely on borrowed lower anchors or have only a tether anchor available are not rated.
thether anchor symbol
Tether anchor
lower anchor symbol
Lower anchors
shared lower achors symbol
Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s)
No hardware available

Details by seating position

1
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
easy to maneuver around anchors
2
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
none available
3
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
easy to maneuver around anchors
Technical measurements for this test

Seat position 21

3

Lower anchor A
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 2-4
Force (lbs) 12
Clearance angle (degrees) 69
Lower anchor B
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 2-4
Force (lbs) 17
Clearance angle (degrees) 66
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present No
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 No
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

Seat position 22

2

Lower anchor A
No lower latch for this seat position
Lower anchor B
No lower latch for this seat position
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present No
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 No
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

Seat position 23

1

Lower anchor A
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 2-4
Force (lbs) 14
Clearance angle (degrees) 66
Lower anchor B
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 2-4
Force (lbs) 11
Clearance angle (degrees) 73
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present No
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 No
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

About the child seat anchor evaluation