Re:Tesla Drivers Have the Highest Crash Rate of Any Brand: S...
by 1-6 on Tuesday December 19, 2023 @04:36PM
(#38702004)
I think that target consumer you’re referring to have moved on from modded Integras, Civics, RSXs, and GR86/BRZ Rice Rockets to Tesla Model 3s. You certainly get more HPs/lbft torque for the buck and you don’t even need to tune it. All those people sporting vinyl decals on their cars these days are Model 3 owners.
Re:Tesla Drivers Have the Highest Crash Rate of Any Brand: S...
by kube-system on Tuesday December 19, 2023 @04:46PM
(#38702122)
Even if they aren't boy racers, everyone I have ever rode in a Tesla with enjoys demonstrating the acceleration and autopilot. The buyers are the types of people who enjoy these features. This is a riskier driver than the mindset of someone who doesn't care about those things and bought something else. They see their cars as something to demonstrate, something to experiment with, something to test the bleeding edge of technology with.
When was the last time you saw someone in a late model Buick doing hard launches and showing off the lane-keep-assist?
It's not how fast the car is, or its safety features. It is the target consumer. Vehicles that appeal to subprime purchasers, boy racers, or other risk takers tend to have higher loss rates compared to similar vehicles.
If you look up high horsepower cars that are known as "old man" sports cars, they tend to have low loss numbers. It is the driver that matters more than any other single factor.
I think the human factor here is a couple of things:
1. many of these drivers are under the impression that their vehicles can drive semi-autonomously, and so they take more risks in not monitoring the system
2. these vehicles are new and high performance, and they appeal to those who want to show off, display status, and take risks in demonstrating the vehicle's capabilities.
3. they are driven on more dense roads