Tesla Makes The Safest Car In Europe But Autopilot Has Issues
Tesla sales might be plummeting across Europe, mainly due to CEO Elon Musk's misguided political aspirations, but on the safety front, the company's Model 3 just aced it.
Tesla polls 359 out of 400 points to win safest car prize
That's right folks, earlier this month, the Tesla Model 3 was named the safest new car on sale in 2025, according to the latest test results from the Euro NCAP. Out of the 20 newly tested vehicles, the Model 3 surged to the top of the list, polling an impressive 359 out of 400 possible points across all major safety categories. Just to reiterate, Euro NCAP has created its five-star safety rating system to help consumers, their families and businesses compare vehicles more easily and to help them identify the safest choice for their needs.
Even though the Model 3 has been on the market longer than its competitors, the Tesla sedan continues to set a high bar for safety. Under Euro NCAP's stricter 2025 testing protocols, the Model 3 received 90% for adult occupant protection, 93% for child occupant protection, 89% for pedestrian protection, and 87% for its Safety Assist systems.
The revised Tesla was complimented by Euro NCAP for its advanced driver assistance features such as the brand's automatic emergency braking (AEB) system, which performed admirably in a variety of test conditions. According to a WhatCar article, the car's child presence detection system and Intelligent Speed Assistance were also mentioned as notable features.
Additional safety features praised by the NCAP organization include the Model 3's robust crash protection for both front and side collisions and pedestrian-friendly pop-up hood.
While the Model 3 aced the safety tests, Euro NCAP testers raised concerns about driver expectations of the brand's Autopilot system. These concerns focused on the fact that some owners may overestimate the system's capabilities, which may lead to misuse or driver distraction behind the wheel. Even so, the Model 3 remained the highest-scoring vehicle tested under Euro NCAP's updated criteria this year.
The fact that Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised, perhaps the company's most comprehensive safety suite, is not yet permitted on European roads makes the Euro NCAP's concerns all the more intriguing. Even though many European cities employ map layouts that are far more complex than many American street scenarios, Tesla says that with FSD Supervised, the Model 3 could move through inner-city streets with little human supervision. I'm not sure how Euro NCAP might test that, but you'll be the first to know here once they do.
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