The Tesla Model Y was recently awarded the Top Safety Pick+ rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the highest possible rating from the safety agency.
While this award and others, like that from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), are given based on how well the electric SUV protects its occupants in crashes.
There is however another underrated and underappreciated safety feature that protects occupants in all Tesla vehicles – the instant torque and acceleration from the electric motors, which helped a Model Y owner in China narrowly avoid getting into a bad accident.
According to dashcam footage of the incident shared to Twitter by @Ray4Tesla, the Model Y owner was driving in the inside lane when a large SUV unexpectedly attempts a U-turn right in front of the Tesla.
The Model Y driver brakes and swerves, and at the last moment pushes down on the accelerator to accelerate out of the way and just avoid being T-boned.
The results would have been very different if it weren’t for the 4.8 second 0-6-mph time of the electric SUV.
You can watch the full video below.
Model Y narrowly escaped from getting T-boned. 0-60 matters. pic.twitter.com/duirIS7gQ7
— Ray (@ray4tesla) January 9, 2022
