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Tesla Model X the First SUV Ever To Achieve 5-Star Crash Rating in Every Category (tesla.com)
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has awarded the 2017 Tesla Model X five-star crash safety ratings in every category. From the company's blog: More than just resulting in a 5-star rating, the data from NHTSA's testing shows that Model X has the lowest probability of injury of any SUV it has ever tested. In fact, of all the cars NHTSA has ever tested, Model X's overall probability of injury was second only to Model S. Model X performs so much better in a crash than gas-powered SUVs because of its all-electric architecture and powertrain design. The rigid, fortified battery pack that powers Model X is mounted beneath the floor of the vehicle creating a center of gravity so low that Model X has the lowest rollover probability of any SUV on the road. No other SUV has ever come close to meeting and exceeding this rollover requirement.
To most normal people that's not a SUV.
It isn't an SUV and it isn't a cross-over. It is a mini-van pure and simple.
OK for soccer moms and stuff but not an SUV.
Elon mentionned a few times that what matters is the total crumple zone of both cars (at least in collision where crumple zone matters). Meaning that it's safer to be hit by a tesla with a bigger crumple zone then by an equivalent ICE vehicule with half the crumble zone. If a normal ICE car has a crumble of 1, when they hit each other they split a total of 2 in 2, 1 each. If a tesla has a crumple zone of 2 it means that the total crumple zone is 3 and each car get 1.5 the crumple zone and both cars are safer due to the tesla (or another car with the equivalent crumple zone).