The Q6 e-tron’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Model Y doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.
In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Q6 e-tron are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Model Y doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Q6 e-tron has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Model Y doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.
Earlier warning of stopped traffic, traffic signals, dangerous road conditions, weather, or accidents, can keep driver's safer and prevent crashes. The Q6 e-tron has Car-to-X Services, a system that seamlessly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The Model Y doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure or other vehicles.
The Q6 e-tron offers an optional Top View Cameras to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Model Y only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.
The Audi Q6 e-tron offers an optional Top View Cameras and it also offers an optional rear camera washer to make backing always safe, regardless of road dirt or grime, while the Tesla Model Y doesn’t offer a camera washer, requiring manual cleaning.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Q6 e-tron’s standard Rear Cross-Traffic Assist uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side and Automatic Brake Activation automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. The Model Y doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.
The Q6 e-tron’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Model Y doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
The Q6 e-tron has a standard Audi Connect CARE, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Model Y doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.
Both the Q6 e-tron and the Model Y have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems and rearview cameras.
The Audi Q6 e-tron weighs 584 to 1170 pounds more than the Tesla Model Y. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.