Tesla insurance had been available in 11 states, but today Tesla has added another state to the list.
Tesla Insurance is now officially available in Minnesota, making it the 12th state in the U.S. to support Tesla's insurance initiative.
Tesla needs to apply and receive approval in each state so it's a slow and long process, but Tesla has been making good progress since it first added California in 2019.
Rate Increase for Some
Although Tesla Insurance usually offers lower rates, two states are about to see a significant rate increase. According to Coverager, a go-to source for insurance information, Tesla General Insurance, the carmaker's subsidiary insurance carrier, is requesting a 30% rate increase in Maryland and a 24.5% rate increase in Oregon. Tesla's insurance initially pegged rates at 30% less, meaning this move could remove the discount for safe drivers.
However, that might not be the case. Insurance premiums in those states have been on a steady rise. Tesla addressed the reasons behind the increases, "Based on competitor rate activity and the inflationary environment that has persisted since our initial submission, we are proposing to target a higher rate level than originally submitted. The revised target rate level is still well within competitor rate levels that have been on-leveled to their most recent indicated rate."
There are 1,508 policyholders in Maryland who got access to Tesla insurance in July. In addition, 937 drivers have gotten a policy with Tesla since it started in that state in April. Tesla Insurance is also available in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Nevada, Ohio, Texas, Utah, Virginia and now Minnesota.
Florida
The news comes while plans to expand Tesla insurance to Florida continue to be delayed. Originally, Tesla owners were told the company's insurance would be available on October 20, 2022. But, according to a letter posted on Reddit, the state was looking for more information from the company just before the launch. Tesla responded on November 10, and it seems the rates the company first believed it would be able to offer must increase for reasons similar to Oregon and Maryland. Tesla has just released an updated telematics model for some states, including Florida. That is the Safety Score tool.
It's the safety score that makes Tesla insurance unique. While companies charge higher premiums for luxury cars, Tesla has kept rates low by monitoring the driver's safety score. The program is looking for Forward Collision Warnings, Hard Braking, Aggressive Turning, Unsafe Following, Forced Autopilot Disengagement and now Late Night Driving. It combines the factors to provide an overall safety score, which reflects how much the Tesla driver is paying for insurance.
It's believed that even with the increases, Tesla will still be the most affordable provider as competition is raising rates. The real question may be which state will see similar hikes and when.
For the first time in quite a while, Tesla has increased the price of one of its vehicle offerings. The Model S Long Range and the Model S Plaid have both received a hefty price increase. However, not all is bad - as Tesla also added a new benefit for buyers.
Price Increase
The price increase for the Model S is $5,000 - currently only in the United States. This price increase will likely impact other markets, including Canada, in the coming days.
The Model S Long Range now starts at $79,990, while the Model S Plaid now starts at $94,990. The Model S and Model X now have the same starting price. Interestingly, that’s also the same pricing point for the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast Trimotor non-Foundation Series.
The vehicle configuration does not appear to have changed, so the new pricing is simply an increase rather than the addition or removal of features. Tesla previously cut the price of the Model S and Model X by 15% in 2023, so this could simply be an adjustment to ensure that the vehicle pricing stays in line with inflation and other factors.
Free Lifetime Supercharging
For those on the fence about ordering a Model S, Tesla has brought back Free Lifetime Supercharging when you order a new Model S on or after December 13, 2024. As always, Free Lifetime Supercharging is restricted to the buyer’s Tesla account and to that specific vehicle. It cannot be transferred to another vehicle or another owner after ownership transfer. It’s worth noting, that it also doesn’t exclude the owner from receiving Supercharger idle fees or congestion fees. There is currently no end date for this promotion.
There are currently no changes to the Model X, neither a price increase nor the addition of Lifetime Superchargering. However, when Tesla makes changes to one of their premium vehicles, it usually affects the other one as well. So be on the lookout for potential changes to the Model X offering in the coming days.
We’ve seen Tesla value Lifetime Supercharging at $5,000, so this falls in line with the price increase we’re seeing. It’s possible that Tesla will begin to bring back Lifetime Supercharging as a perk for buying into their more premium Model S and Model X cars, or this could be another temporary promotion to get buyers who are on the fence to go ahead and make their purchase while this promotion lasts.
Tesla recently showed off a demo of Optimus, its humanoid robot, walking around in moderately challenging terrain—not on a flat surface but on dirt and slopes. These things can be difficult for a humanoid robot, especially during the training cycle.
Most interestingly, Milan Kovac, VP of Engineering for Optimus, clarified what it takes to get Optimus to this stage. Let’s break down what he said.
Optimus is Blind
Optimus is getting seriously good at walking now - it can keep its balance over uneven ground - even while walking blind. Tesla is currently using just the sensors, all powered by a neural net running on the embedded computer.
Essentially, Tesla is building Optimus from the ground up, relying on as much additional data as possible while it trains vision. This is similar to how they train FSD on vehicles, using LiDAR rigs to validate the vision system’s accuracy. While Optimus doesn’t have LiDAR, it relies on all those other sensors on board, many of which will likely become simplified as vision takes over as the primary sensor.
Today, Optimus is walking blind, but it’s able to react almost instantly to changes in the terrain underneath it, even if it falls or slips.
What’s Next?
Next up, Tesla AI will be adding vision to Optimus - helping complete the neural net. Remember, Optimus runs on the same overall AI stack as FSD - in fact, Optimus uses an FSD computer and an offshoot of the FSD stack for vision-based tasks.
Milan mentions they’re planning on adding vision to help the robot plan ahead and improve its walking gait. While the zombie shuffle is iconic and a little bit amusing, getting humanoid robots to walk like humans is actually difficult.
There’s plenty more, too - including better responsiveness to velocity and direction commands and learning to fall and stand back up. Falling while protecting yourself to minimize damage is something natural to humans - but not exactly natural to something like a robot. Training it to do so is essential in keeping the robot, the environment around it, and the people it is interacting with safe.
We’re excited to see what’s coming with Optimus next because it is already getting started in some fashion in Tesla’s factories.
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