The 2025 Tesla Model Y has once again secured the Top Safety Pick+ rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), marking the fifth consecutive year Tesla’s popular electric SUV has received this recognition and reinforcing its reputation as one of the safest vehicles on the road.
High Marks Across All Key Tests
To earn the Top Safety Pick+ (TSP+) designation, a vehicle must achieve a “Good” rating across several rigorous crash tests, including the updated moderate overlap front crash, small overlap front (driver- and passenger-side), and side impact tests. It must also meet minimum standards for headlight performance and pedestrian crash prevention.
The 2025 Model Y (which is the pre-refresh version – the refresh is model year 2026), excelled in nearly every evaluation, earning the highest “Good” rating in all major categories, including crash avoidance and mitigation. Tesla’s advanced collision-avoidance technology, which comes standard on all trims, performed exceptionally in the pedestrian front crash prevention tests. The Model Y successfully avoided collisions at both day and night in all tested scenarios.
The only category where the Model Y did not receive a perfect score was the LATCH ease-of-use evaluation for child seat installation, where it was rated “Acceptable.” However, this is not a required category for TSP+ status.
Stricter IIHS Standards for 2024 and 2025
While it may not seem surprising the Model Y was able to continue its success in 2025, it was notable because the IIHS tightened its safety standards yet again this year, particularly with its updated moderate overlap front crash test, which now includes a second dummy in the rear seat to measure backseat protection.
The IIHS also toughened its safety requirements in 2024, raising the bar for vehicles to earn top ratings. Previously, achieving an “acceptable” or “good” score in the moderate overlap front crash test was sufficient for a vehicle to qualify for the lower-tier Top Safety Pick. However, as of last year, only a “good” rating meets the standard for both the Top Safety Pick and the higher Top Safety Pick+ designation.
The organization also revamped its pedestrian crash prevention assessment by merging the separate daytime and nighttime evaluations into one comprehensive test. To earn recognition, vehicles must now achieve at least an “acceptable” rating in this updated evaluation.
Despite the tougher requirements, the Model Y excelled, showing minimal injury risk for both front and rear occupants.
In this latest round of IIHS testing, the only other vehicle to achieve a TSP+ rating was the 2025 Volvo XC90 T8 plug-in hybrid, but only for models built after December 2024, when safety updates were implemented.
You can read the full safety report on the IIHS website.
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