The Tesla Model Y is the first car to meet new driver-assistance safety standards in the United States

The latest version of the 2026 Tesla Model Y is the first vehicle to meet the agency’s new standard for advanced driver assistance systems, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Tuesday.

Four failure tests have been added to the agency’s safety ratings program, evaluating the vehicle’s automatic emergency braking for pedestrians, blind-spot warning, blind-spot intervention, and lane assist, a feature that helps keep the vehicle in the lane.

The updated standards aim to catch up with the ever-evolving vehicles and long list of features offered to consumers. Automakers typically label these features with names that don’t always describe the tasks they perform, and there is often no government-provided standard for evaluating how well they perform.

The new standard designation applies to 2026 Tesla Model Y vehicles assembled on or after November 12, 2025.

The tests are part of NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), which administers the government’s 5-star safety rating program. NCAP also conducts a range of tests to determine how vehicles handle frontal and side impacts as well as rollover resistance and collision avoidance. The four advanced driver assistance standards were added in 2024 as part of the NCAP update to include advanced driver assistance features.

TechCrunch reached out to NHTSA to see what other vehicles are on the waiting list. We will update the article if the agency responds.