Tesla's Model S Beats The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Safety Tests By a Mile

Whether or not the Hyperloop unveiling went the way Elon Musk wanted it to, the billionaire inventor has a new achievement to hang his hat on: The Tesla Model S has set a record for having the highest safety rating of any vehicle.

It's a pretty good trick for a car that is supposed to look unsafe and wasteful: The Tesla Model S - with its electric motor and now this safety rating - is exactly the opposite.

So how safe are we talking? Here's one example: The machine that is supposed to stress test car roofs for rollover crashes literally broke before the Model S's roof did. On top of that, according to Tesla Motors' release, the Tesla Model S got a 5-star safety rating overall, and in every subcategory "without exception."

The testing was done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation that writes and enforces the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The tests are done on a 5 star system, but only about 1 percent of all cars tested by the agency reach a safety level of 5 stars across all tests. The Model S, according to Tesla Motors, achieved what could be called a 5.4 star rating, after combining all of the scores in various subcategories (although the NHTSA does not publish any score above 5 stars).

The Tesla Model S has an advantage over gasoline-powered cars, according to the release, because it has a longer crumple zone to absorb front-end impacts. Without a large gasoline engine block, the crumple zone becomes longer and has more distance to slow the driver down in a high speed crash without overloading the driver with high G forces. As Telsa Motors put it, "Just like jumping into a pool of water from a tall height, it is better to have the pool be deep and not contain rocks."

Other tests where the Tesla Model S scored well include the side pole intrusion test, which is considered one of the most difficult tests. Telsa Motors says that the Model S was the only car in the "good" category, and out-scored its closest competition - the Volvo S60, which is also a 5-star rated car in every category - by over 50 percent. The Model S also scored well on the rear crash test and was proven to have a low rollover risk, because the battery is mounted below the floor pan, providing a very low center of gravity for the car.

And then there's the roof crush test. The Model S was tested at an independent commercial facility to see at what point the roof would crush in. According to Tesla Motors, the machine failed at just above 4 g's, meaning that at least four fully loaded Model S cars could be stacked on top of each other without the bottom car's roof caving in. Tesla Motors did note that "the exact number [for the roof crush test results] is uncertain due to Model S breaking the testing machine."