That's misleading. They don't test for pedestrian safety as part of the normal tests. But they test for it generally, not specific to any model and use those results to inform their rules about what can and can't be sold. Same story with rollover testing.
This is why hood ornaments mostly died and flip up headlights fully died. The NHTSA doesn't write rules that ban specific features. You can do anything it meets the requirements. You can make brake hoses out of woven spaghetti if you want. It'll probably cost you a lot to get them to a performance point where they meet the rules though.
Furthermore, the NHTSA doesn't do most testing. The testing must be done and the testing needs to meet NHTSA standards but the OEMs are free to DIY it or outsource.
This is why hood ornaments mostly died and flip up headlights fully died. The NHTSA doesn't write rules that ban specific features. You can do anything it meets the requirements. You can make brake hoses out of woven spaghetti if you want. It'll probably cost you a lot to get them to a performance point where they meet the rules though.
Furthermore, the NHTSA doesn't do most testing. The testing must be done and the testing needs to meet NHTSA standards but the OEMs are free to DIY it or outsource.