Tesla conducted internal crash tests of the Cybertruck, and because it was compliant with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, the vehicle could be delivered to customers. However, it doesn’t have official safety ratings from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has no plans to test the car.
However, there is an explanation for all this.
Cybertruck’s position with NHTSA
NHTSA does not “approve” new vehicles, but it does set performance requirements that comply with the FMVSS. Manufacturers certify compliance with these standards when crash tests are conducted internally. Some vehicles are tested directly by NHTSA, but the Cybertruck is not one of them. At least not yet.
According to a 2020 report from Consumer Reports“97 percent of all new cars sold have been evaluated for crash testing by one or both of these independent organizations.”
However, as Initial safety evaluations of the Cybertruck These have been added to the NHTSA database, but do not include any specific classifications regarding crash classifications. The only ratings are for safety features, such as forward collision warning, lane departure warning, imminent collision braking, and dynamic brake support, which all meet performance standards.
Cybertruck is not mentioned in 2024 list of vehicles to be included in the agency’s five-star safety rating Evaluations tests.
That means the Cybertruck won’t get official ratings from the NHTSA until the truck is tested directly by them, according to the agency, which explained its plans Teslarati on monday.
Cybertruck position with IIHS
The IIHS has no plans to test the Cybertruck, the organization told us.
“Automakers conduct their own crash tests to ensure compliance with federal regulations and for internal purposes,” said Joe Young of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). “No matter what [Cybertruck] Tested by IIHS or NHTSA’s NCAP program, it will still need to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, which require certain crash test standards.
The Cybertruck has done just that, and the NHTSA and IIHS recommendation is somewhat another sign of confidence for any vehicle tested. Tesla has received a five-star rating for its vehicles from the NHTSA in the past.
Young also said the Cybertruck could be tested by the IIHS in the future. However, this decision will be made after you can assess the “level of general consumer interest in the vehicle.” If it’s popular enough, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) might test it.
Additionally, Tesla can contact the IIHS and nominate the Cybertruck for testing:
“The test nomination process allows automakers to essentially reimburse us for the cost of the vehicle(s) to test them more quickly than we might otherwise. Both scenarios will require vehicles to be available,” Young said.
The IIHS also has a verification testing program, which allows automakers to submit internal data and crash test results. Due to limited funding and time, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) cannot independently test every consumer vehicle on the market, so it can use original manufacturer data to do so. The software is regularly audited for accuracy.
However, the Cybertruck is currently unable to be part of the verification test programme. “As a new model, the Cybertruck will not qualify for this program in the driver-side small overlap test, and we are not accepting validation data for our updated moderate frontal overlap test program,” Young explained. “It is possible that it will qualify for a validation evaluation in one or more of our other tests.” , but this will be at the discretion of our crashworthiness team.
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