Tesla Cybertruck Named Safest Pickup Truck of 2026
Tesla’s Cybertruck has been named the safest pickup truck for 2026 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). In the latest update to its ratings, the IIHS awarded the 2026 Cybertruck the Top Safety Pick+ designation.
The updated IIHS results counter early concerns about the vehicle’s angular stainless-steel exoskeleton. Crash tests demonstrate that the truck’s geometry and structure contribute to safety that leads the pickup segment.
Top Safety Pick+
To earn Top Safety Pick+, a vehicle must score at the highest level across a broad set of evaluations. The Cybertruck achieved a Good overall rating across nearly all core tests:
- Small Overlap Front
- Moderate Overlap Front (Updated test)
- Side (Updated test)
- Headlights
- Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle 2.0
- Front crash prevention: pedestrian.
In active collision avoidance checks, the Cybertruck avoided every pedestrian impact scenario tested, including a crossing child during the day, a crossing adult at night, and a parallel adult at night.
This performance continues a repeating trend. The truck previously earned a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS last year. Other models in the lineup show similar outcomes, with the Model Y and the Model 3 regularly receiving top safety honors.
Cybertruck's Full IIHS Ratings
The IIHS rates each category on a four-tier scale: Good (G), Acceptable (A), Marginal (M), and Poor (P). Below are the Cybertruck’s ratings as published by the IIHS:
Crashworthiness
| Evaluation criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Small overlap front | G |
| Moderate overlap front: updated test | G |
| Side: updated test | G |
Crash avoidance & mitigation
| Evaluation criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Headlights | G |
| Front crash prevention: pedestrian (Standard system) | G |
Seat belts & child restraints
| Evaluation criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Seat belt reminders | M |
| LATCH ease of use | A |
Small Overlap Front
The small overlap front evaluation includes separate driver-side and passenger-side tests. If the two differ, the lower of the two becomes the overall small overlap rating.
Driver-side
| Overall driver-side evaluation | G |
|---|---|
| Structure and safety cage | G |
| Head/neck (driver injury measures) | G |
| Chest (driver injury measures) | G |
| Hip/thigh (driver injury measures) | G |
| Lower leg/foot (driver injury measures) | G |
| Driver restraints and dummy kinematics | G |
Passenger-side
| Overall passenger-side evaluation | G |
|---|---|
| Structure and safety cage | G |
| Head/neck (passenger injury measures) | G |
| Chest (passenger injury measures) | G |
| Hip/thigh (passenger injury measures) | G |
| Lower leg/foot (passenger injury measures) | G |
| Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics | G |
Moderate Overlap Front
| Overall evaluation | G |
|---|---|
| Structure and safety cage | G |
| Head/neck (driver injury measures) | G |
| Chest (driver injury measures) | G |
| Thigh/hip (driver injury measures) | G |
| Leg/foot (driver injury measures) | G |
| Driver restraints and dummy kinematics | G |
| Head/neck (rear passenger injury measures) | G |
| Chest (rear passenger injury measures) | A |
| Thigh (rear passenger injury measures) | G |
| Rear passenger restraints and dummy kinematics | G |
Side (Updated Test)
| Overall evaluation | G |
|---|---|
| Structure and safety cage | G |
| Head/neck (driver injury measures) | G |
| Torso (driver injury measures) | A |
| Pelvis (driver injury measures) | G |
| Driver head protection | G |
| Head/neck (rear passenger injury measures) | G |
| Torso (rear passenger injury measures) | G |
| Pelvis (rear passenger injury measures) | G |
| Rear passenger head protection | G |
Others
| Headlights | G |
| Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle 2.0 | G |
| Front crash prevention: pedestrian | G |
| Seat belt reminders | M |
| Child seat anchors | A |
The Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle 2.0 test category is new in this year’s ratings and applies to all 2026 model year Cybertrucks. The IIHS evaluated this category with standard Collision Avoidance Assist engaged. Across the full battery of tests, the Cybertruck only received three Acceptable ratings and a single Marginal rating, its worst result, for child seat anchors.
Beating the Competition
Compared with other pickups, the Cybertruck stands alone with the Top Safety Pick+ rating, making it the only pickup truck to earn that award in the industry.
- Tesla Cybertruck
- Toyota Tundra
- Ford F-150
- Ram 1500
- Ford F-150 Extended Cab
- Rivian R1T
- Toyota Tundra Extended Cab
- Chevrolet Silverado 1500
- GMC Sierra 1500
The stainless-steel truck outperformed legacy gas-powered pickups and its direct electric competitor, the Rivian R1T, which ranked sixth.
Understanding the Production Cutoff
The IIHS states that the top rating applies to 2025–26 models built after April 2025. The Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle 2.0 results apply only to 2026 Cybertrucks. Beginning with 2025 models built after April 2025, Tesla implemented changes to the front underbody structure and footwell to improve protection in driver-side small overlap front crashes.
Questions had been raised about trucks built before that cutoff. Wes Morrill, Tesla’s Lead Engineer for the Cybertruck, explained that the date restriction relates to a minor manufacturing change to the front casting that was optimized for manufacturability in April 2025.
Although IIHS ratings do not formally cover vehicles produced before April 2025, Tesla’s internal testing shows no difference in crash outcomes between the two versions. Owners can verify build dates on the certification label located on the driver door or adjacent B-pillar. Vehicle safety also benefits from software, with an over-the-air update recently adding the Blind Spot Warning While Parked feature to help prevent occupants from opening doors into approaching traffic.
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