Are electric cars not simply cleaner, but safer as well? The high federal safety rating given to the Tesla Model S this week suggests that key elements of the electric sedan’s design may have positive implications for passenger safety.
But the money spent on engineering and building the luxury car is also a factor, and that may be harder to replicate in E.V.’s aimed at the mass market.
The 2013 Model S got an overall combined score, called the overall Vehicle Safety Score, of 0.42. This is the lowest score – and in this case lower is better – of any vehicle that N.H.T.S.A. has tested under a new rating system it began applying to 2011 models. However, the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro came close with a score of 0.47, and it isn’t electric. The score of the 2013 Nissan Leaf, which is an electric car, was 0.77.
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