Tesla Model X 'to receive five-star safety rating in US'

Tesla's Model X electric SUV is expected to to receive "five-star ratings in every single safety category" in the US, according to Electrek.

Crash-test footage shows the car's large curtain airbags and strong body panelling appearing to do an admirable job in protecting passengers during a side-impact collision, although there is no indication of how fast the SUV was going.

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The US-based National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has yet to officially reveal the Tesla's safety rating, but Electrek says this "shouldn't be too far behind" the release of the crash footage.

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Teslarati says the Model X "boasts spacious front and rear crumple zones that absorb crash energy", a similar system found on the Tesla Model S saloon.

Despite having a higher roofline than the Model S, the SUV's floor-mounted batteries keep its "centre of gravity extremely low to the ground", adds the site. As there's not much weight high up in the car's structure, the chance of rolling over is "near impossible".

Euro Ncap, the European safety regulator, has also to provide a score for the Model X, but it awarded the Model S saloon a full five-star rating in 2014, saying excelled in adult and child occupant protection, although it scored a 66 per cent safety rating for pedestrians struck by the car.