Tesla Insurance: A look at its cost and which states it's available in

By Gabe Rodriguez Morrison
Tesla is rapidly expanding their insurance offering
Tesla is rapidly expanding their insurance offering
Not a Tesla App

Tesla Insurance is a competitively priced insurance product that offers Tesla owners a new option.

Tesla has a unique understanding of its vehicles, technology, safety features and repair costs, which help eliminate some fees associated with traditional insurance carriers. Tesla Insurance provides a convenient monthly payment and the ability to manage claims and coverage directly through the Tesla app.

It also puts you in control, since your insurance premium is in part based on your driving habits.

Where is Tesla Insurance Available?

The service is currently only available in select U.S. states, but it continues to expand to additional states. Tesla CEO, Elon Musk says it will also expand to Canada in the future.

Tesla Insurance is currently available to Tesla owners in the following states:

  • Arizona
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Illinois
  • Minnesota
  • Maryland
  • Nevada
  • Ohio
  • Oregon
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Virginia

Who Can Purchase Tesla Insurance?

New and current Tesla owners can purchase an insurance policy in the Tesla app by tapping the profile icon located in the top-right corner and selecting ‘Get Tesla Insurance.’

If you've recently placed an order for a Tesla, you will need to wait until a VIN is assigned before ordering Tesla Insurance.

Tesla is rapidly expanding their insurance offering
Tesla is rapidly expanding their insurance offering
Not a Tesla App

Additional Vehicles

Tesla Insurance will not only cover Tesla vehicles but also any other vehicles you may own.

You can add additional vehicles when submitting the policy.

However, Tesla Insurance is currently limited to vehicles and Tesla does not offer home insurance or other types of insurance policies.

What You Get with Tesla Insurance

With Tesla Insurance you can view documents, billing, payment details and make claims all from the Tesla app.

Like other insurance companies, there are a variety of plans with varying levels of coverage depending on your needs.

How Does Tesla Insurance Work?

Tesla collects data from the vehicle that helps assess how the vehicle is being driven.

Unlike other insurance products, Tesla does not require an additional device to be installed in the vehicle. Instead, Tesla uses features already included to determine how often the vehicle is driven, and how often the driver follows too closely or stops harshly.

This data is then used to help determine the driver's insurance premium.

The insurance premium also factors in the vehicle model, the insuree's location, and the distance the vehicle is driven.

Tesla Insurance users make monthly payments based on their driving behavior rather than factors typically used by other insurance providers, such as credit, age, gender, claim history and driving records.

Tesla Insurance Cost

Every insurer has different factors to determine their costs and their customers' likelihood of getting into an accident. While Tesla Insurance could save you money, it could also cost more than alternatives available in your state.

According to Tesla, "An average driver could save between 20% to 40% and the safest drivers could save between 30% to 60%."

Your Safety Score can have a large impact on your insurance premium
Your Safety Score can have a large impact on your insurance premium
@GailAlfarATX/Twitter

We've seen scenarios where Tesla Insurance saves someone hundreds of dollars a month, but we've also seen it cost significantly more than its competitors.

There are many factors that determine your insurance premium. If you're new to Tesla or haven't shopped around in a few years, we recommend getting a free quote from Tesla to see whether Tesla Insurance would save you money.

You can also read more about how Tesla determines your Safety Score which is used to set your insurance premium.

Is This Camouflaged Tesla Model Y the Upcoming Performance Variant?

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

A recent sighting at Giga Texas by drone operator and detail hound Joe Tegtmeyer has really caught our eye. A red Model Y was driving within the factory premises with its front and rear sections heavily camouflaged in Tesla’s standard black coverings. To top it off, there wasn’t just one, but two vehicles.

Tesla usually conceals vehicles when it has something to hide or test, and this timing suggests to us that a new variant of the world’s best-selling SUV is on its way. This leads us to two theories - a refreshed Model Y Performance or the anticipated, more affordable E41 Model Y.

The front fascia, headlights, and hood are almost entirely obscured, with similar coverings applied to the rear, hiding the taillight design and bumper. This is a classic practice to keep new design elements under wraps before an official unveiling, and this is exactly what we saw with the Model 3 Highland and Model Y Juniper projects. The rest of the vehicle, including the central body and roofline, appear fairly consistent with the current Model Y.

Refreshed Model Y Performance?

One compelling possibility is that Tesla is preparing for the launch of the refreshed Model Y Performance. This speculation gains traction when we look at the launch of the refreshed Model 3 Performance. The Performance variant launched several months after the Long Range AWD and RWD variants and came with a bespoke front fascia. That fascia included air ducts for improved aerodynamics and brake cooling, helping to differentiate it both visually and by performance from other refreshed Model 3s.

It stands to reason that Tesla is preparing to launch the refreshed Model Y Performance. The extensive covering on the front fascia could be hiding a more aggressive, aerodynamically optimized bumper and air ducts to match the Model 3 Performance.

More Affordable Model Y?

Alternatively, this mystery vehicle could be the prototype of the previously discussed affordable variant of the Model Y, known as E41. Tesla has been working on further cost reductions for its highest volume vehicle, which includes cost-cutting components and features, as well as working on manufacturing efficiencies.

Tesla is focusing on making its existing models, like the Model Y, more affordable. In this case, the camouflage might be concealing simplified exterior features designed to help reduce production costs. This could include a revised front-end design, along with different headlights or taillight assemblies. Tesla could even forgo the distinctive front lightbar, as well as the afterburner-style rear lightbar, if it contributes to worthwhile savings.

This would be a step beyond the recently introduced Model Y Long Range RWD, which improves the vehicle’s range and lower the price by $4,000.

For now, the identity of this camouflaged Model Y remains a mystery. The fact that it is out and about at Giga Texas suggests that whatever changes Tesla has incorporated are significant enough to warrant covering up the front and rear of the vehicle.

Tesla Confirms Reduced Driver Monitoring on FSD v13.2.9

By Karan Singh
@WifeDirtyTesla

Tesla’s FSD has made some truly incredible strides since V11, and since FSD V12.5, the experience has been hands-free for vehicles with a cabin camera.

However, a persistent point of frustration for many users is the strictness of the Driver Monitoring System (DMS), often referred to as the “nag.” In a recent interaction on X, Mike P detailed his grievances about how strict the DMS was.

This post drew a response from Elon Musk, who said, “You’re right.” Just a few days and a relatively unassuming point release later, Tesla has already decided to take action to improve its DMS.

The core issue here, which many who use FSD can attest to, isn’t about wanting to be irresponsible. Instead, it is about the current system’s sensitivity. The DMS can feel overly punitive for brief, normal interactions with the vehicle’s center display.

User Experience Woes

Mike P’s experience was common - you can’t even glance at the display to change the song or add a nav stop without the DMS warning you to pay attention.

If you continue, then you risk receiving a FSD strike. This leads to most drivers disabling FSD and typing their destination in while manually driving. For the casual observer, you can tell that it is clearly far more dangerous.

This highlights a safety paradox: a system designed to ensure attentiveness can sometimes lead to less safe workarounds. One must acknowledge that Tesla is in an odd position, being incredibly cautious about safety and ensuring it stays within NHTSA guidelines. However, the nag today is overkill in some situations, such as glancing at the center screen.

Tesla Confirms Change

Musk’s relatively concise answer resonated with his previous outlook on the matter. During Tesla’s Q1 2025 Earnings Call, he acknowledged that the DMS can be too strict and mentioned that Tesla is actively looking into ways to loosen those restrictions. He also pointed out the irony between the current system encouraging users to disengage FSD for simple tasks, only to re-engage it moments later - a less-than-safe cycle.

In a post on X, Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s VP of Autopilot AI, delivered welcome news. He confirmed that the latest FSD update, V13.2.9, includes a loosening of the cabin camera nag. This is an undocumented change, and one that we’re very excited to see.

This undocumented change is the latest step in Tesla’s overall plan forward Unsupervised FSD, which would drop the DMS completely. Previous updates, like the shift to vision-based driver attention monitoring in V12.4 and V12.5, aimed to balance safety with user experience.

What Does This Mean?

While the full extent of changes in V13.2.9 will become clearer as Software Update 2025.14.6 rolls out to more FSD users, the confirmation of loosened cabin camera nag suggests a few things.

Update 2025.14.6

FSD Supervised 12.6.4 & 13.2.9
Installed on 36.2% of fleet
696 Installs today
Last updated: May 18, 4:45 am UTC

This likely means greater tolerance for brief glances at the screen for essential tasks, whether it be adjusting climate settings, inputting a nav destination, or changing the current song. It could also include a potentially more forgiving threshold for looking away, especially in low-speed scenarios. The DMS does not ding you for using the display or looking away while the vehicle is waiting at a red light today, but Tesla could expand this to driving under 10 mph (16 km/h).

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