--- title: "US Gov: Tesla Made “Misleading” Safety Claims About Model 3" description: "The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sent Tesla cease-and-desist letter claiming it had made \"misleading statements\" about safety." date: "2019-08-08" modified: "2019-08-08" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-misleading-safety-claims" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "Model 3" - "NHTSA" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # US Gov: Tesla Made “Misleading” Safety Claims About Model 3 ![The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sent Tesla cease-and-desist letter claiming it had made "misleading statements" about safety.]() *\Image: Renato Mu/Victor Tangermann\* ## Cease-and-Desist The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sent Tesla a cease-and-desist letter in October 2018 claiming it had made "misleading statements" about the safety rating of the Model 3, [according to documents]() obtained by government transparency watchdog PlainSite. The letter, written by NHTSA Chief Counsel Jonathan Morrison, mostly concerns a [Tesla blog post]() published at the time that claimed that the Model 3 achieved "the lowest probability of injury of any vehicle ever tested by the NHTSA." According to the letter, the NHTSA reached out to the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection as well — since, it said, this wasn't the first time Tesla "failed to conform" to safety guidelines. ## Inappropriate Comparisons Morrison argues in his letter that comparing frontal crash tests between two vehicles with a substantial weight difference — Teslas are generally pretty heavy thanks to their batteries — "is inappropriate." The results of that test, in other words, would be skewed thanks to the mass of the vehicle. "Frontal crash test data cannot determine whether a Model 3 would fare better in a real world frontal collision with, for instance, a significantly heavier SUV," reads the letter. A larger vehicle would have a much "greater chance of survivability and injury avoidance." Tesla shot back in a letter [also published]() by PlainSite, claiming that its tests were legitimate and based on "NHTSA's own calculations for determining relative risk of injury and probability of injury.” **READ MORE:** [Tesla received a cease-and-desist letter from US agency over Model 3 safety claims]() \[*CNBC*\] **More on Tesla:** *[Elon Musk Fans Think His Meme Tweets Are Teasing a New Tesla]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()