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.

Tesla Is Now Offering Cybertruck Test Drives [List of Locations]

By Karan Singh
@brandonhd

Tesla has begun to reach out to customers in the United States and is offering demo drives of the Cybertruck on an invite-only basis. @brandonhd on X shared the first invite image, and it looks like it's going out quite quickly to multiple locations that have Cybertrucks on display.

Up until now, display vehicles have been for just that – looking, but no touching. Some Tesla delivery centers and showrooms have also allowed viewers to take a seat inside and open it up, but most are still locked away behind the velvet rope.

It’s exciting to see that Tesla has begun to demo them – and it can only be so long until demo drives open up to everyone.

Advisor-led Demo

This Demo Drive is led by a Tesla Advisor – while you’re driving, the advisor will be in the passenger seat, walking you through the experience. They’ll explain steer-by-wire, off-road controls, and will introduce new-to-Tesla buyers to all the features that are currently available.

Once FSD V12.5 comes to the Cybertruck, we’re sure they’ll be demoing its capabilities FSD capabilities as well.

Locations

The list of locations so far for demo drives appears to be fairly limited, but we will hopefully see demo drives roll out throughout the United States, and eventually Canada too. Here is the current list of city/state locations that have seen demo drive invites.

  • Manhasset, New York

  • West Covina, California

  • Los Angeles, California

  • Houston, Texas

  • Orlando, Florida

  • Westmont, Illinois

  • Tucson, Arizona

  • Phoenix, Arizona

  • Delaware

Musk Confirms 'Actually Smart Summon' is Coming in a Revision of FSD V12.5

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

Actually Smart Summon, the successor to Tesla’s Smart Summon feature, has been confirmed to be coming as soon as next month as per Elon Musk. Colloquially known as “ASS”, Actually Smart Summon is supposed to improve on the regular Smart Summon capabilities, which have historically used ultrasonic sensors (USS) to navigate parking lots.

We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon, and we’re quite excited about what other features will be unlocked once it finally shows up at our doorstep.

Vision-based Improvements

ASS is supposed to bring Smart Summon to vehicles that don’t have USS – using Tesla Vision. Most recently, Tesla has brought Autopark to vehicles without USS, and Vision-based Autopark has been a huge success. It is faster, more reliable, and smoother than the older USS-based solution. It can also park and maneuver in tighter locations.

Just recently, Tesla returned the Model X’s self-presenting doors, using Tesla Vision. Vision has seen some fantastic improvements, and many people are waiting for ASS to bring forth these improvements to Smart Summon.

Smart Summon Today

Today, Smart Summon is sometimes useful at best, usually a party trick, or downright dangerous at worst. It’s excellent and best used in straight lines, where you have a clear line of sight of the vehicle, and can stop it if doesn’t see an obstacle.

I used Smart Summon today, just before writing this article – my 2022 Model Y (with USS) – did manage to show up just fine – in a straight-line location from where I was parked, after exiting the parking spot fairly cleanly. However, I’ve previously used Smart Summon and have had the vehicle turn towards obstacles, such as cart returns or curbs. Overall, it’s a sometimes-useful feature that has a lot of drawbacks right now.

Smart Summon is also restricted to a certain distance – and it's pretty small. The max distance is shorter than most parking lots, being only about 215 ft (65m). If you’re lucky enough to park close, it's very useful to bring your car right to you.

Actually Smart Summon

ASS will bring FSD V12-like capabilities to Smart Summon – the vehicle will primarily use Vision to drive toward you (or the location you’ve indicated). ASS has been supposed to be coming since about September 2022 and has seen many delays – we’re almost at the 2-year point today.

We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon being able to bring the vehicle – safely – right to you. ASS is also one of the key steps towards bringing some other cool features that Elon Musk has previously mentioned – Park Seek and Banish Autopark.

We’re also hopeful that Actually Smart Summon will increase the maximum range a vehicle can be summoned, because the current range is fairly small. Alongside Park Seek and Banish Autopark, we’re closing in on a Robotaxi-based future.

Park Seek and Banish Autopark

When the FSD v12.4 showed up, Elon also mentioned that going forward, vehicles would automatically park themselves when arriving in a parking lot – Park Seek – and that if you got out of the car at the entrance to a business, you could get it to automatically park itself in the parking lot – Banish Autopark. These are two features that are needed for Robotaxi to work – which itself is delayed to October 10th of this year. We’re looking quite forward to them – as in combination with Actually Smart Summon, Tesla has reached the cusp of vehicle autonomy.

A vehicle that arrives, driverless, at the location you’re at, then drives somewhere, parks itself there, and waits for you – is the definition of a Robotaxi.

While we’re likely to have to wait for Banish Autopark and Park Seek just a bit longer, Actually Smart Summon being around the corner is exciting! Gone will be the days of having to run out to your car when you forgot your umbrella – your car will just come right to you instead.

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