PieFedTesla insurance premiums are incresing at twice the market rate amid vandalism
electrek.co/2025/04/14/tesla-insurance-premiumsโฆ
But fuck these cars in particular.
24 Comments
Comments from other communities
GhostalmediaIโm betting that this almost entirely a result asshole Telsa drivers getting into more accidents, not vandalism.
- We already know that the brand is a leader in can accidents.
- The time range is Feb 24 to Feb 25
- Rate calculations are heavily driven by the previous yearโs costโs (Feb 23 to 24).
Telsa has armed a bunch of suburbanites with heavy ass cars that come with acceleration speeds that are rival a corvette. That alone should drive up accidents.
There is a reason fast engines have always come with higher insurance. People get in more accidents and worst accidents.
A commenter on the site made the same comment, but I find it difficult to believe that insurance companies won't adapt more quickly to marked increases in vandalism.
If they don't immediately raise rates, then they will make less profit.
If their competitors do raise rates, then the Tesla owners will flock to the ones that didn't raise rates and those companies will end up with reduced profits due to having more Tesla's and thus more claims to cover.
Vandalism makes the news, especially around here. As a proportion of the total number of Teslas, vandalism is minuscule.
Even their text goes against the headline:
Therefore, itโs likely that the increased instances of vandalism against Tesla vehicles had an impact on these results, but itโs likely that higher repair costs are having a bigger impact.
Agreed, but give that people didnโt start aggressively lashing out against Musk until after inauguration and after DOGE started doing shit, I imagine the earliest proactive rate adjustments would be rolling in during March at the earliest.
Vandalism will 100% raise rates, but the date cutoff strikes me to me too early for that to show in the data.
I would imagine it's a combination of factors. Driver stupidity is probably one of them, but there's no reason for insurance companies not to take increased vandalism into account.
But also, can you imagine the sheer psychological discomfort that must come with driving a Tesla at this point? Seeing videos of Teslas on fire, hearing people shout "swastidumpster" and "fucking nazi" at you when you drive down the street. Look at how defensive some of these people are in videos and on social media where you literally see them openly threatening people. Their stress levels behind the wheel must be through the roof. That has got to affect their driving.
Tesla owner here. Yeah, it sucks.
I live in a rural area without any form of public transit within ~50km, I frequently travel long-ish distances, so I wanted to reduce my carbon footprint by switching to an electric car. After comparing the different options, I went with the one that had the best price / range / charging options / availability for my needs and that happened to be the Model 3 Long-Range.
Fuck me, right?
At this point, I just hope vandals will see my "deport Elon to Mars" sticker before setting mine on fire.
I don't work for Ford, but have been pretty satisfied so far with my Mach E. I just traded in my 2015 Model S 85D for that. Understandable that you might not be in a position to do the same, but all-in, it was cheaper than the model 3, has 300 mile range, and can charge just about everywhere (their "Blue Oval Network" includes chargepoint, electrify america, and even Tesla superchargers if you get an adapter - can also do everything from Ford's app). Also, a friend and I tested out the "Unbridled" mode on it the other day (basically the spicier acceleration and tighter steering mode), and it was just as fast as the model S was (both are AWD). We also saw a pretty large reduction in our monthly insurance fees after switching, which was a bonus.
Yeah, mine is a 2024, got it late last summer (Elon's antics were relatively limited to Twitter at that point...) so it's way too early to change. My M3 has ~50 more miles of range than your Mach-E and I did need all of it a couple times last winter when it was -20ยฐC. Good to know about the insurance; but I think my next car will probably be a Kia or Hyundai, I really like their offerings in that space. Main reason I didn't buy one this time was the delivery delays; it was 6+ months here in Qc.
Yep - Kia was looking good on most counts except that they came out about 10k more than the Mach E. If that was in my budget, that would have expanded my options quite a bit (several other contenders at that price point).
Agreed. Vandalism will 100% increase rates. Iโm just saying that since the vandalism didnโt really start gaining popularity until Feb, weโre not going to see it in this until March at the earliest.
If I was motivated, I segment out Feb and see if the data changed radically.
Is Tesla still selling car insurance for their vehicles?
SeeMarkFlyJust don't cover vandalism, then say the assembly line was vandalism. Problem solved!
If vandalism continues, then this will easily be the death of Tesla.
Nobody will want to buy a Tesla when an equivalent Mercedes has half the insurance rate.
Boycotts also hurt Tesla, but vandalism will be their death.
This sets a very strong precedent for future fights against evil companies.
Wallet punch!
This and a recall of 4 million cars.
Good ๐
Now if the vandalism turned into hitting a production line, that would really fist them that much harder
I am not convinced it would, TBH.
If people don't want to buy the cars, then the production line will eventually have to stop, permanently. And you get zero compensation for lost revenue.
If a production line is hit and has to close, then insurance will compensate part of the damage and after a few days or weeks you can be up and running again.
Well you bring up some valid points that I overlooked, I think I may reconsider that position.
I could see the insurers dropping them if production was repeatedly hit but I also am realistic and know the chances of that being successful would probably be pretty slim.
thier insurance premiums will go up if dealerships are targeted too. Also: can't sell a car at full price as new if it's broken.
Yeah, if you have people replace whole battery packs over a broken coolant fitting, things blow up quick.
Hooray for corporate greed.
Also partly due to their own price gouging lol.
There's a reason why nobody gets a used one, never heard of a person doing it,except 1 stupid influencer
Its working. Keep it up.
I'm so glad I was too broke to buy a Tesla when it was hyped and when Elon was just the dude smoking weed on Joe Rogan's podcast and the guy that laughed at a dead deer. I really wanted one and I'm so glad I don't have one ๐ฅณ
Same lol. Now i just look at BYD since it's cheaper. Might consider our local EV after this too. But mostly i'm looking forward to convert another bicycle to ebike and commute by it.
OMG same here man... I thought the first few were cool when they just came out.
The first were cool. Then Elon got involved and ruined it
Ohhhh nooo...anyway
This can go further. Mass vandalism of SUVs and Fuck You sized trucks would have the same effect
Yeah, that's how insurance works and in this case and as a model 3 owner speaking for myself, it's justified.
I'm happy to see this happen. For the last couple months, I've been telling internet people that rational insurers will do this instead of spreading the cost to all drivers. Economics still works!
Everybody who was vandalizing should now redouble their efforts, because the cost is internalized to Tesla owners.
Good.
Damn. I saw the title, and was going to say "Fuck cars, but ESPECIALLY fuck teslas".
But I see the body of the message covered that quite well before I even got here.
Welp.....guess I'll just go walk off a cliff or whatever.
Try to land on a Tesla