Tesla Says Model S Sedan Receives Top U.S. Crash Rating

Posted on: August 21st, 2013 by metroplugin

By Alan Ohnsman –                   Aug 20, 2013 4:09 PM ET

Bloomberg

Original Link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-20/tesla-says-model-s-electric-sedan-gets-top-u-s-crash-rating.html

Tesla Says Model S Electric Sedan Receives Top U.S. Crash Rating

Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA), the electric-car maker led by billionaire Elon Musk, said its flagship Model S sedan received the highest crash test ratings of any car tested by U.S. regulators.

The battery-powered vehicle, with a base price of about $70,000, got five-star ratings in every safety and crash category set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Palo Alto, California-based company said in a statement. The car has the “lowest likelihood of injury to occupants” and exceeds the performance of sport-utility vehicles and minivans, Tesla said late yesterday.

The assessment follows Consumer Reports magazine rating Model S among the best cars it’s ever tested, in a May review. Tesla, named for inventor Nikola Tesla, plans to deliver a record 21,000 of the lithium-ion battery sedans this year to customers in North America, Europe and Asia.

The Model S lacks a large engine block and has a larger “crumple zone” to protect passengers in the event of a crash, the company said. That helped the car get a combined 5.4-star score in government tests. Musk, 42, who is both Tesla’s chief executive officer and biggest shareholder, joked in a July interview that the car would get “six- or seven-star ratings” if government tests had such designations.

Tesla gained 3.2 percent to $149.58 at the close in New York. The company’s shares have increased more than fourfold this year, compared with a 16 percent increase for the Russell 1000 Index. (RIY) Musk’s personal net worth has more than tripled this year to $7.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alan Ohnsman in Los Angeles at aohnsman@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jamie Butters at jbutters@bloomberg.net

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