Not just SUVs. The visibility out of the rear of my Model 3 is almost as bad as the rear of my BMW X5 SUV. The trunk is so high, you cannot see the headlights of a following passenger car until it's some distance behind.

It's not just Tesla, visibility across all cars is getting worse over time, as manufacturers are pushed by crash test standards to improve performance in a crash against another vehicle or stationary object, to the detriment of the ability to avoid a crash (visibility, weight/handling, etc), and at the cost of humans and animals NOT in a big heavy motorized box.

In Europe (Euro NCAP), crash test standards include tests against pedestrians and electronic assistance like ESP and emergency breaking, including against pedestrians. Standards are regularly updated to take new technologies, other road users, and potential loopholes into account.

Maybe it is different in the US, but most cars sold in the US are sold in Europe too.

Weight and visibility are still a problem, and electric cars and their big batteries make the weight problem worse, but it doesn't mean that crash test standards only cares about the car occupants, and handling is definitely considered.

>most cars sold in the US are sold in Europe too.

is this actually the case? i'm sure the inverse is true, but when I visited australia (which admittedly I'm aware is not in the US) I was surprised how many huge cars there were, which you don't really see at least in my part of europe. I was under the impression american cars similarly tend to be bigger than european ones

Most European cars need modifications before they can be sold in the US and visa versa. Some manufacturers have previously said it's like building two separate cars for the two different markets.

You're right, it's an exaggeration to say they don't consider pedestrians at all. Europe is leading the way there, but it's definitely becoming a consideration in the US as well.

So glad to come across your comment. This has been driving me mad when I've been on long road trips lately. As a driver of a "normal" sedan, it's amazing how few cars i can see around/through on the highway at this point. I was specifically noticing the model 3 and its raised rear window. It requires a much larger safe following distance when the only signal you get is the taillights of the guy in front of you, especially when they're the type of human who cant figure out how to leave a buffer so they tap the brakes for no reason every few seconds. And of course with an abnormally large space in front of you you'll get aggressive drivers moving around to fill in the spot, mostly the SUVs who can see over most, which means you get to try to see around them now.

it's a shame the trend (toward larger and larger cars) is so at odds with the environment. cars are already such a large and inefficient solution for what theyre used for 99.99% of the time, why keep making it worse?

as predicted in the early 1990s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI_Jl5WFQkA

Pretty sure this is from s8 or higher so more like late nineties? Probably more a parody of trends already existing

You’re right, but it can still be fixed after the problem happens

Those generally aren’t the places where the SUVs are being reversed.

Those spaces exist but in general people with kids don't want to live there.