Tesla launches car insurance business in California
- Ben Geman, author of Axios Generate
A Tesla showroom. Photo: Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images
Tesla yesterday rolled out an insurance line for vehicles in California and plans to eventually expand it to other states.
Why it matters: The electric automaker said it's "designed to provide Tesla owners with up to 20% lower rates, and in some cases as much as 30%," adding that it "reflects the benefits of Tesla's active safety and advanced driver assistance features that come standard on all new Tesla vehicles."
The big picture: Bloomberg reports that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has "bristled for years at some Tesla customers' complaints that they're paying high insurance rates."
- "Costlier coverage undercuts the case the company frequently makes that its cars are the safest in the industry and its driver-assistance system Autopilot helps drivers avoid crashes."
What they're saying: Jalopnik's Aaron Gordon writes that it's a "risky bet" in light of Tesla's wobbly finances.
- "Given that auto insurance is a low-margin business, offering discounts as steep as 20 percent, to say nothing of 30 percent, is a big bet that their data isn't just a little bit better, but a lot better."
Go deeper: What Tesla knows about you