Tesla Updates Safety Score with 2.1, Addressing Night Driving, Community Calls for Action on Forward Collision Warnings

Safety Score 2.1 Update

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Tesla's Safety Score 2.1 update adjusts its evaluation criteria, particularly focusing on the Late-Night Driving metric. At the same time, the broader community continues to express concerns over other aspects of the system, notably the Forward Collision Warning.

Tesla has specifically addressed the Late-Night Driving metric, shifting the impactful driving window from 10 PM - 4 AM to 11 PM - 4 AM. This change directly responds to feedback regarding how late-night driving affects Safety Scores and, consequently, insurance premiums.

Addressing Concerns Beyond the Update

DriveTeslaCanada posted the story, which became quite a topic on Reddit. While the Late-Night Driving metric adjustment has been well-received, the Tesla community remains vocal about other system aspects, particularly the Forward Collision Warning’s sensitivity. Reports of frequent false alerts highlight a potential area for further improvement. Users suggest implementing a feature for manual incident reporting, using dashcam footage as evidence, to help refine the system's accuracy. Additionally, there's a call for Tesla to leverage such data to train its neural networks, aiming to reduce false positives.

Insurance and Safety Scores: Discussions extend to the implications of the Safety Score on Tesla Insurance premiums, with drivers sharing how updates and system sensitivities affect their scores and, subsequently, their insurance costs.

Reflecting on Safety Score 2.0

The introduction of Safety Score 2.0, almost one year ago to the day, marked a significant milestone, adding new safety factors like Excessive Speeding and Unbuckled Driving to Tesla's driving assessment tool. These factors, alongside the updated Late Night Driving metric and existing metrics like Hard Braking and Aggressive Turning, leverage Tesla's vast fleet data to encourage safer driving habits.

Tesla's Safety Score, evolving through versions from 1.0 to the current 2.1, serves as a personalized driving coach. Assessing driving behavior against a set of safety factors provides drivers with actionable feedback to improve their habits. This enhances road safety and offers the potential for lower insurance premiums, aligning financial incentives with safer driving practices.

The Safety Score's utility extends beyond individual feedback; it aggregates millions of miles of driving data to inform Tesla's safety feature development. This ongoing analysis helps identify trends and patterns in driving behavior, shaping the evolution of vehicle safety features and contributing to Tesla's reputation for producing some of the safest vehicles on the road.

As Tesla continues to refine its Safety Score system, incorporating driver feedback and advancing technology, the dialogue between the company and its community is vital. The adjustments in Safety Score 2.1, especially the revised Late-Night Driving metric, reflect a positive step towards balancing safety assessments with real-world driving experiences. Meanwhile, the ongoing discussions about FCW sensitivity underscore the importance of continuous improvement and innovation in vehicle safety systems.

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Tesla Improves Wrap Services: Cuts Prices Drastically, Adds New Colors and Expands Availability

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After canceling the in-house wrap program for the Cybertruck last month, Tesla has reintroduced the program with a lot of changes. Let’s take a look at the original program, then we’ll dive into what’s changed.

Tesla began the wrap program for the Model 3 and Model Y in the fall of 2023. With the arrival of the Cybertruck, Tesla launched Matte Black and Satin White options for the Cybertruck and later added 11 more colors.

These are high-quality PPF (Paint Protection Film) wraps, which protect the paint in addition to changing the color of the vehicle. PPF is thicker, lasts longer, and is far superior to traditional vinyl wraps, but unfortunately, the service is only available if your vehicle is brand new.

When the program shuttered last month, many people were disappointed about the closing as it allowed owners to bundle the cost of the wrap service into the vehicle’s financing.

New Wrap Prices

First things first - the price of the wraps has dropped considerably, and Tesla does not appear to be using a different material - it is still PPF, not vinyl. These new prices are a lot more comparable to third-party offerings that normally use vinyl wraps.

Tesla initially offered 11 wrap colors, but that selection has now been reduced to eight per vehicle. Interestingly, the color options vary by model—Model 3 and Model Y owners have their own distinct palette. The Cybertruck also boasts its own unique set of colors, though unfortunately, the popular Satin White option is absent from its catalog.

Of course, the ever-popular Matte Black is still available, along with a fairly unique set of other vivid colors.

New Locations

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When the wrap program launched, it was limited to just three locations in California and one location in Texas. That meant that unless you were taking delivery at West Covina, Oceanside, Costa Mesa, or Santa Clara, you’d be unable to get a first-party wrap done by Tesla.

Now, under the new program, Tesla is offering wraps out of all the original locations and adding Seattle, Washington. What initially seemed like Tesla scaling back its wrap service has turned out to be to them making it more affordable and efficient.

New Purchases Only

For now, the wrap offers are still constrained to new vehicle purchases—you won’t be able to have Tesla wrap a vehicle that’s already been delivered. Paint damage and scuffs can impact the installation of PPF and require additional time to smooth out the vehicle surface.

Either way, with cheaper wrap options, Tesla is now directly competing against third-party wrap shops when it comes to wrapping vehicles in PPF. While it’s still a bit more expensive than you’d find elsewhere, it also comes with a level of care and precision from technicians intimately familiar with your vehicle.

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Tesla Increases Price of Model S; Starts Offering Free Lifetime Supercharging

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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.

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