We could give you 15 tries, and we don’t think you’d be able to guess the safest American car for 2026, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Only six American vehicles, in any segment, have scored an IIHS award this year, only two have scored a Top Safety Pick+, the non-profit’s highest honor, and only one of those two aced its car-to-car collision-avoidance tests: the Tesla Cybertruck.
Base Trim Engine
EV
Base Trim Transmission
Automatic
Base Trim Drivetrain
All-Wheel Drive
Base Trim Horsepower
600 HP
Base Trim Torque
521 lb.-ft.
Base Trim Fuel Economy Equivalent (city/highway/combined)
85/72/79 mpge
Base Trim Battery Type
Lithium ion (Li-ion)
Infotainment & Features
7 /10
We haven’t always been the Cybertruck’s kindest critics here at CarBuzz, but we like to think that we give credit where it’s due. While Tesla’s weird, polygonal pickup has had its share of embarrassing recalls, sales slumps, and build quality concerns, it clearly keeps passengers safe in a collision, and excels at avoiding crashes whenever possible. Here’s what the IIHS has to say about the boxy EV.
Pedestrian Collision Avoidance Is More Important Than Ever
Subaru Outback AEB Pedestrian IIHS TestIIHS
Comparing 2026’s Top Safety Pick+ criteria to 2025’s, here’s what’s changed.
IIHS Top Safety Pick+ Criteria
Test
2025
2026
Small Overlap
Good
Good
Moderate Overlap
Good
Good
Side Test
Good
Good
Headlights
Acceptable/Good
Acceptable/Good
Pedestrian Crash Avoidance
Acceptable/Good
Good
Vehicle-to-Vehicle Crash Avoidance
N/A
Acceptable/Good
Collision avoidance requirements are the big change this year. In every other category, automakers only need to keep up with new testing methods if they want to retain their Top Safety Pick+ award.
These requirements will tend to favor tech-forward vehicles. Case in point, only the Rivian R1S and the Tesla Cybertruck scored the IIHS’ highest honor this year.
Top Safety Pick Criteria Is Harder To Clear For 2026, Too
2025 Rivian R1S Green Front Angled ViewJared Rosenholtz/CarBuzz/Valnet
Criteria for the non-profit’s silver medal, the Top Safety Pick, are as follows…
IIHS Top Safety Pick Criteria
Test
2025
2026
Small Overlap
Good
Good
Moderate Overlap
Acceptable
Good
Side Test
Good
Good
Headlights
Acceptable/Good
Acceptable/Good
Pedestrian Crash Avoidance
Acceptable/Good
Acceptable/Good
The vast majority of Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ winners this year are Korean and Japanese vehicles. The most impressive overall is the Subaru Outback, with a Top Safety Pick+ award, and a perfect collision-avoidance report card, preventing a crash in every single scenario.
Only Six American Cars Have Earned An IIHS Award This Year
2026 Buick EnclaveJared Rosenholtz/CarBuzz/Valnet
As further vehicles are tested and new models released, we expect more American-made cars, trucks, and SUVs to make the winners circle. But, as of late March, the pickings are slim, with just six American vehicles clearing the bar.
Model
Small Overlap
Moderate Overlap
Side Test
Headlights
Collision Avoidance
Award
2026 Lincoln Nautilus
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Top Safety Pick
2026 Buick Enclave
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good/Acceptable
Top Safety Pick
2026 Ford Mustang Mach-E
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Top Safety Pick
2026 Ford Explorer
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Top Safety Pick
2026 Rivian R1S
Good
Good
Good
Acceptable
Acceptable/Good
Top Safety Pick+
2026 Tesla Cybertruck
Good
Good
Good
Good
Good
Top Safety Pick+
In instances where a car scores Good ratings across the board, but still fails to secure a Top Safety Pick+, the discrepancy has to do with outdated tests. For instance, the Mustang Mach-E’s ratings are for a 2024 model, which predates the IIHS’ current collision-avoidance tests.
Related
Why Detroit Automakers Are Losing Out On America’s Safest Car Crown
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Incidentally, the Mach-E held a Top Safety Pick+ award for 2024 and 2025. The latest roundup just goes to show that a vehicle can be demoted through no fault of its own. A 2026 Mach-E might clear the bar and earn a Top Safety Pick+ award, but we won’t know until the IIHS is able to put it through its paces and see how it performs.
Excellent Safety Tech Puts The Cybertruck Ahead Of The Pack
2024 Tesla Cybertruck Rear Angled View on Construction SiteTesla
The Tesla Cybertruck took forever for the IIHS to test, being a niche product. The initial vision for the Cybertruck was for it to compete with big boys like the Ford F-150 and the Chevy Silverado, but, as it turns out, mainstream interest in the DeLorean-inspired electric pickup was limited. The Institute’s resources are finite, after all, and the Cybertruck was seen as low-priority. Add to that, Tesla wasn’t exactly ringing the IIHS’ phones off the hook on the matter, so the first model year was never tested at all.
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The IIHS is about to get its hands on heavy-duty trucks and vans.
Breaking the Cybertruck’s ratings down, point by point, here’s what we turned up.
The Cybertruck earned a Good rating on every single point, in every single crash test, with two exceptions; an Acceptable rating for rear passenger chest injury measures in the moderate overlap test, and an Acceptable rating for driver torso injury measures in the side test.
Car-to-car collisions were avoided in every single test.
Motorcycle collision tests were hit-and-miss. The Cybertruck avoided a collision in all but one 43 mph test, where it reduced the speed by 32 mph, but failed to issue a timely warning.
A timely warning was issued in every semi-trailer collision test.
The Cybertruck avoided a collision in every single pedestrian-avoidance test.
If you think back a few years, you may remember that there were concerns that the truck was maybe not that safe, but its first round of IIHS tests proved otherwise. A near-perfect NHTSA report supported the IIHS’ findings, with the NHTSA awarding the truck five stars out of a possible five in every category except for rollover, where it earned a four-out-of-five rating (which is par for the course for top-heavy pickups and SUVs).
The Cybertruck’s Gargantuan Weight Played A Part In Its Safety Award
2024 Tesla Cybetruck Exterior front 3/4 on off-road trailTesla
The IIHS has reported that passenger vehicles are getting heavier, and the Cybertruck is practically dragging the average weight up all on its own, not just tipping the scale, but practically squishing it at a hefty up-to-6,863 lbs.
This has to do with the battery pack lining the floor of an EV. In the Cybertruck, you have a pack comprised of 4,680 lithium-ion cells weighing in at a whopping 1,590 lbs. For comparison, one of those little Suzuki Carry kei trucks weighs less than 1,500 lbs at the lightest, so you’ve got a battery pack that literally weighs more than some other trucks.
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Electric SUVs frequently rank among the Insurance Institute’s favorites, owing largely to pioneering safety tech, but this one is the IIHS’ favorite.
The battery pack also helps to keep a car on its feet in even the most chaotic accidents. The Tesla Model X, which has just been retired, actually made history by being the first SUV to score a perfect five-out-of-five rating with the NHTSA for rollover, essentially proving untippable in the Administration’s tests.
Unfortunately, all that extra weight actually creates a greater risk for other drivers on the road. A Tesla Cybertruck is almost certain to keep its occupants safe in most crashes, but that could come at the expense of plowing right through smaller vehicles. Automakers have been making great strides in this department, with modern cars designed to complement one another’s crumple zones, but there’s only so much a compact or mid-size car can do to trade momentum with an EV twice its weight.
In any event, the Tesla Cybertruck has scored a much-needed win for its brand, and for America. This latest list of award-winners looks pretty dire for American automakers, so it’s nice to see the Tesla Cybertruck holding its ground as the only full-size pickup with a Top Safety Pick+ award.
