A perfect score ought to be good enough for any car – that’s the message from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which has issued new marketing guidelines that explicitly prohibit automakers from promoting safety scores higher than 5 stars. The updated guidelines also say that NHTSA safety scores are always whole numbers.

The new policy is obviously aimed at Tesla, which claimed in August that the Model S had somehow achieved a safety score of 5.4 stars.

“Tesla’s claim was an example of the potential confusion and inaccuracy that could be caused by incorrect use of the 5-Star ratings information in advertising and marketing statements,” NHTSA said, and reiterated that the agency does not issue scores above 5 stars. “Advertisers who claim more than 5 stars are misleading the public.”

Car companies? Mislead the public? We are shocked! Shocked!

Source: Reuters