Tesla roof so strong it broke crush-test machine: USA Today

[Stuart G]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2013/08/20/tesla-model-s-crash-test/2678557/

As crash-test boasts go, Tesla is claiming a good one: The roof of its Model S electric sedan is apparently so strong that it broke a testing machine during independent validation of its government crash-test scores.

Roof-crush strength was just one of the reasons that Tesla says its electric car just came up with a five-star rating in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration testing.

Five stars is NHTSA's top rating. While other plug-in electric models have overall five-star ratings, a perfect five for each of the three test scores is relatively rare. The 2014 Ford Focus electric also is rated five stars overall and in side-crash testing, but four in rollover and frontal-crash testing. The 2014 Chevrolet Volt is rated five stars overall but has a four in frontal-crash testing. Nissan Leaf is rated four stars overall

[DJ13]

1. Great, but

.... you just have to expect some big money shareholders of their stock will now be questioning why the company is wasting money over engineering their cars.

Not to mention the waste of materials where thinner metals would save money.

[panzerfaust]

2. Now if only you could buy one here if good 'ol Freedum and Free-markit Luving Texas

The Austin American-Statesman reports: "You can visit one of the two galleries Tesla Motors operates in the state — one in Austin, the other in Houston — but employees can't tell you how much the car costs. They can't offer you a test drive. They can't even give you their website address. And if you buy one, the car is delivered by a third party — in a truck that's not allowed to have Tesla markings."

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-06-20/news/ct-oped-0620-chapman-20130620_1_tesla-motors-car-dealers-car-costs