Tesla Has Highest Rate of Deadly Accidents Among Car Brands, Study Finds

Rolling Stone ^ | 21 Nov 2025 | Miles Klee

[Paal Gulli]

Tesla Has Highest Rate of Deadly Accidents Among Car Brands, Study Finds

Despite the company's claim that its vehicles are "engineered to be the safest in the world," the Model S and Model Y rank among the most dangerous automobiles

By Miles Klee, 21 November, 2024

“Teslas are the safest cars on the road, but most people don’t know that,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote on X (formerly Twitter) last year. The superlative is typical of the billionaire, and the automaker itself, which boasts that its vehicles “are engineered to be the safest in the world.”

But while Tesla’s cars routinely receive top safety ratings, including from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, accident statistics show that the brand has the highest rate of accidents in which at least one car occupant is killed, according to a new report from the auto research firm iSeeCars.

Analyzing fatal collisions from 2017 to 2022 involving 2018-2022 car models, the group identified the Tesla Model S and Tesla Model Y as two of the most dangerous cars on the road by occupant fatality rate. Though models from Hyundai, Chevrolet, Mitsubishi, Porsche, and Honda occupied the top five spots on the list, the Tesla Model S, a mid-size SUV, came in sixth, with a fatal accident rate 3.7 times higher than the average car, and 4.8 times higher than the average SUV. The Model S rate is double that of the average car.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report....

https://12ft.io/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/tesla-highest-rate-deadly-accidents-study-1235176092/

[Secret Agent Man]

Plus how many incidents are there because they hit the pedal too hard and the response was faster than they expected?

[The Unknown Republican]

If true, I’ll bet that it’s no small party because people want to show off the torque and then lose control of the car.

[Secret Agent Man]

Our side....

You’re falling for the libtard bait just as much.

Of course its a neg piece tied to Elon.

But do we all need to pass loyalty tests now like the dam socialists require? Thats where you’re acting like them.

[JennysCool]

I know I always look to Rolling Stone for honest reporting about the products their perceived political opponents produce.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

I’ve read it elsewhere. Most deaths per mile. The model S is the worst culprit, almost twice as many deaths per mile.

Tesla automobiles suck.

[blackdog]

She was 16. She dropped something she just had to find on the floor. She had a straight on impact into a stopped Expedition in a center lane for left turn. Her whole car was about five feet in length after the impact, and yes she walked away from it. A 1996 Geo Prism four door Sedan (believe that?!!) I wrote GM a thank you letter for the design engineers.

[VTenigma]

That and they have the highest rate of dumb drivers.

[Deaf Smith]

Teslas are known for the deaths of Chinese billionaires.

See: Angela Chao.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

What’s the name of the effect “I want to feel that high acceleration all the time and drive batshit crazy. Everybody out of my way! I’m going to cut over five lanes at 90 mph.”

[Dr. Sivana]

See also "Peltzman effect."

Sometimes. Sometimes not. The old tank-like Volvo 240s had safety stats that reflected the reputation.

On the other hand, Corvettes historically did very well in crash tests, but the fatality rate was high because of the way they were driven, and the profile of the typical driver.

I betcha that Porsche in the Top 5 fatality list is plenty safe in the hands of a mature (not necessarily old) driver.

I always preferred getting the used Buick over the used Chevy because of the profile of the typical Buick driver. A Park Avenue doesn't get as abused as much as a Pontiac Bonneville or a Chevy Monte Carlo.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

What vehicle was she driving?

[nwrep]

1996 Geo Prism

[tumblindice]

You read Roiling Stones? Paul, I ...

[Zhang Fei]

[She was 16. She dropped something she just had to find on the floor. She had a straight on impact into a stopped Expedition in a center lane for left turn. Her whole car was about five feet in length after the impact, and yes she walked away from it. A 1996 Geo Prism four door Sedan (believe that?!!) I wrote GM a thank you letter for the design engineers.]

---

Thanks for the hair-raising details. OMG. Gotta hand it to Toyota. Excellent design work. Corollas have always impressed with how popular they are, worldwide, being just the right combo of price and reliability. I had no idea factored into that fairly economical package was excellent crashworthiness.

---

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geo_Prizm
[The Geo Prizm and Chevrolet Prizm were compact cars that were rebadged versions of the Toyota Sprinter, a vehicle that the Japanese automaker Toyota never directly sold in the North American market. The Sprinter itself was derived from the Toyota Corolla. The Prizm was marketed under the Geo nameplate until it was discontinued after the 1997 model year. After that, the vehicle was marketed under the Chevrolet nameplate. General Motors (GM) referred to this and other Toyota Corolla derived vehicles as the GM S platform. The cars were produced from 1988 to 2001 (the last ones being sold for model year 2002) alongside the Corolla at NUMMI, an assembly plant operated as a joint venture of GM and Toyota. The Prizm was sold exclusively in the United States and succeeded the 1985–1988 Chevrolet Nova, which was also derived from the Sprinter and produced at NUMMI.]

[matthew fuller]

Wonder how many of the fatalities are burned to death?

[roving]

It’s really not that hard to scroll past. I do it all the time.

[catnipman]

typical lies by rolling stone ...

according to the source of RS article data:

https://www.iseecars.com/most-dangerous-cars-study :

Tesla Model Y at 6
Tesla Model S at 21

but with disclaimer:

“Most of these vehicles received excellent safety ratings, performing well in crash tests at the IIHS and NHTSA, so it’s not a vehicle design issue,” said Brauer. “The models on this list likely reflect a combination of driver behavior and driving conditions, leading to increased crashes and fatalities.”

[IOW, NOT a design issue, but a driver issue ...]

full list:

Cars With the Most Frequent Occupant Fatalities - iSeeCars Study
Rank
Model
Fatal Accident Rate (Cars per Billion Vehicle Miles)
Compared to Overall Average
1
Hyundai Venue
13.9
4.9x
2
Chevrolet Corvette
13.6
4.8x
3
Mitsubishi Mirage
13.6
4.8x
4
Porsche 911
13.2
4.6x
5
Honda CR-V Hybrid
13.2
4.6x
6
Tesla Model Y
10.6
3.7x
7
Mitsubishi Mirage G4
10.1
3.6x
8
Buick Encore GX
9.8
3.4x
9
Kia Forte
8.1
2.9x
10
Buick Envision
8.0
2.8x
11
Kia Soul
7.3
2.6x
12
Toyota Corolla Hybrid
7.3
2.6x
13
Chevrolet Camaro
7.3
2.6x
14
Nissan Versa
7.2
2.5x
15
Kia K5
7.1
2.5x
16
Kia Seltos
6.8
2.4x
17
Ford Bronco
6.6
2.3x
18
Ford Bronco Sport
6.2
2.2x
19
Dodge Charger
6.1
2.1x
20
Toyota Prius
5.9
2.1x
21
Tesla Model S
5.8
2.0x
22
INFINITI Q50
5.8
2.0x
23
Toyota Venza
5.6
2.0x
Overall Average
2.8
–

[citizen]

In such a circumstance, it is amazing how fast a car will veer off course when reaching to the floor, across the passenger seat or into tbe back seat area, with your attention diverted. We’ve all done it - and more than once, usually with nothing more than a quick correction back on course.

It’s marvelous your daughter survived relatively unscathed. Here’s to hoping she will drive with more focused attention.

[citizen]

That’s the thing, the higher rate of serious accidents, not the total as ICE cars far outnumber the EVs.

I suspect these Teslas provide immediate higher performance response than the unfamiliar drivers can handle. In short, the vehicle “gets away from them.”

[Drago]

The Leftie “180” turn-around is humorous...Elon & Tesla were the darlings of the Greenie/Leftist crowd just a few short years ago...now that Elon did the Twitter free speech deal and has gone a bit MAGA he must be discredited/destroyed at any cost!!