Tesla Model S Safety Rating: 5.4 Out of 5 Stars

Just how well did the Tesla Model S do in government safety tests? The highest score a car can get is 5 stars. The Model S got 5.4. "Yes," writes Travis Okulski at Jalopnik. "It broke the scale." In fact, the electric car did better than any vehicle ever tested by the National Highway Transportation Safety Board, reports the Christian Science Monitor. About 1% of cars get a 5-star rating, but the Tesla did exceptionally well in all the individual categories and subcategories—front impact, side impact, rear impact, rollover vulnerability, you name it.

"Frontal impact was aided by the lack of engine block under the Tesla's 'frunk'—allowing more space for impact absorption," writes Antony Ingram at the Monitor, who finds evidence of a real-world test in Tennessee. A woman driving a Tesla S there slammed into a power pole hard enough to knock it down and cut off power to a neighborhood, reports WGNS. But she emerged unscathed, except for DUI charges. (The Model S, which starts at a mere $70,000, also got rave reviews from Consumer Reports.)