Re:Tesla’s new car-building process could be an industrial b...
by bryanlarsen on Thursday September 14, 2023 @05:46PM
(#37515283)
Tesla sells insurance on their cars in many jurisdictions, so they are directly motivated to make their cars cheaper to repair.
Re:Tesla’s new car-building process could be an industrial b...
by LaSombra on Thursday September 14, 2023 @06:14PM
(#37515525)
Depends what the small letters say. Not all insurances are equal, unfortunately.
Re:Tesla’s new car-building process could be an industrial b...
by owyn on Thursday September 14, 2023 @08:08PM
(#37516514)
Very good point. But... I'm sure it's profitable for them no matter how expensive the car is to repair. I don't think that's a driver to make the car cheaper to repair. In fact, if they are harder to repair it's probably even better! The "write off" part of the typical insurance claim is different because they're paying themselves in that case.
The insurance coverage model provides extra cash now. The market value of a Tesla is different than the raw material value (batteries, raw materials, recycling) so I'm sure Tesla doesn't care about that because it's not generic insurance for any car, it's Tesla insurance for Teslas. They can charge less, get extra cash flow, and the raw material goes right back into the factory to make a brand new one.
But still, inflation is at 4% and car insurance went up +19% this year. [1] I'm sure it will keep raising every year until they find some nice equilibrium where... people don't want to buy cars? That doesn't seem very likely, what with all the amazing public transportation options we have in this country. However, insurance companies generally pay out more than they take in premiums. They invest the premiums to make their profits. So it's not entirely price gouging. Operating a vehicle IS becoming more expensive for a bunch of these reasons. But for a lot of people, it's also not an option. The top 3 reasons in that article are: worse drivers, more expensive repairs and (sad trombone) natural disasters.
Kind of a... situation our society has backed itself into over the last 100 years in promoting private car ownership over shared infrastructure. Who could have seen this coming? /s
[1] https://www.npr.org/2023/09/13/1199032000/car-auto-insurance...