Tesla’s Model X the safest SUV yet

Having set new safety standards with its Model S sedan, Tesla can now claim to build the world's safest SUV.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has awarded the Model X five-star ratings in every one of its nine test categories – a first for an SUV.

Tesla says the car's low-mounted battery pack lends its car the lowest roll-over possibility of any SUV.

"More than just resulting in a five-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," it says.

"In fact, of all the cars NHTSA has ever tested, Model X's overall probability of injury was second only to Model S."

The claims should be taken with a grain of salt as the NHTSA has not tested high-end SUVs such as the Volvo XC90 and Audi Q7 that also represent safe prospects.

EuroNCAP or Australia's NCAP have not yet tested Tesla's SUV.

But EuroNCAP has tested the Model S, which received an impressive five-star rating.

The Model X also boasts what Tesla calls a "bioweapon defense mode" that uses a state-of-the-art air filtration system to clean the air in the cabin.

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