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Sure, but that's not Tesla's problem, just another hidden cost passed off to the consumer. Car insurance costs are skyrocketing, and people really should call t
by owyn 3y ago
Sure, but that's not Tesla's problem, just another hidden cost passed off to the consumer. Car insurance costs are skyrocketing, and people really should call to see how much a new vehicle is going to cost to insure first, but how many people really do that? From what I remember, I pay about 6x more than I did 20 years ago, but that's also because new cars are more expensive (inflation). I don't see cars getting significantly cheaper any time soon. New cars in China are competitive in price and features with any other new car but not like 10x cheaper. Despite the occasional "sale price", if Tesla can make a cheaper car they will also keep the profits.
But still, inflation is at 4% and car insurance went up +19% this year. [1] I'm sure it will keep raising every year until they find some nice equilibrium where... people don't want to buy cars? That doesn't seem very likely, what with all the amazing public transportation options we have in this country. However, insurance companies generally pay out more than they take in premiums. They invest the premiums to make their profits. So it's not entirely price gouging. Operating a vehicle IS becoming more expensive for a bunch of these reasons. But for a lot of people, it's also not an option. The top 3 reasons in that article are: worse drivers, more expensive repairs and (sad trombone) natural disasters.
Kind of a... situation our society has backed itself into over the last 100 years in promoting private car ownership over shared infrastructure. Who could have seen this coming? /s
[1] https://www.npr.org/2023/09/13/1199032000/car-auto-insurance-premium-inflation https://www.npr.org/2023/09/13/1199032000/car-auto-insurance...
- bryanlarsen 3y agoTesla sells insurance on their cars in many jurisdictions, so they are directly motivated to make their cars cheaper to repair.
- LaSombra 3y agoDepends what the small letters say. Not all insurances are equal, unfortunately.
- owyn 3y agoVery good point. But... I'm sure it's profitable for them no matter how expensive the car is to repair. I don't think that's a driver to make the car cheaper to repair. In fact, if they are harder to repair it's probably even better! The "write off" part of the typical insurance claim is different because they're paying themselves in that case. The insurance coverage model provides extra cash now. The market value of a Tesla is different than the raw material value (batteries, raw materials, recycling) so I'm sure Tesla doesn't care about that because it's not generic insurance for any car, it's Tesla insurance for Teslas. They can charge less, get extra cash flow, and the raw material goes right back into the factory to make a brand new one.