Sept. 19, 2019—Tesla has earned its first award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for the 2019 Model 3. The Model 3 joins one other all-electric plug-in vehicle, the Audi e-tron, in the IIHS winner's circle

The Model 3 earns good ratings across the board for crashworthiness. Its standard front crash prevention system earns a superior rating, avoiding collisions in both the 12 mph and 25 mph IIHS track tests, and its only available headlights earn a good rating.

The Model 3's structure held up well in one of the Institute's most challenging crash tests, the driver-side small overlap front test. Intrusion of 8 inches at the lower door-hinge pillar contributed to a moderate risk of injury to the driver's lower leg, as indicated by measures taken from the dummy. No other injury risk was recorded, and the front and side airbags and the seat belt worked well to control the dummy's movement during the crash.