Tesla’s Latest Venture – Own Brand Of Insurance
Tesla has done it yet again! They’ve thrown a new curveball into their gameplan that now involves providing auto insurance. It’s slated to come alive in less than a month. Elon Musk promises that it’ll be “Much more compelling than anything else out there” to top it all off. We’re not sure how insurance can be compelling but we’re ready to find out!
When we look at Tesla as a company, is pretty amazing what they’ve managed to accomplish in their short lifespan. Even though they’ve been mass producing for less than a decade, the company has expanded to all sorts of different sectors. They’ve quickly become the most prominent electric vehicle producer in the industry. They also seem to have the most effective autonomous system for those looking for a self-driving car. There aren’t any signs of the company slowing down, either. They’ve got a lot more coming!
Earlier this week, we heard of Tesla’s plans to take over the ridesharing industry robotically. These plans outline an idea with autonomous taxis where vehicle owners could essentially send out their cars and make a little bit of money. It seems as if they’re attempting to corner the automotive market in such a way that they create their own world.
Another idea that follows this concept is they will soon be getting in on auto insurance. Perhaps, this has to do, in part, with the fact that Tesla is one of the more expensive vehicles on the road to insure. However, other signs point to the company striving to be in anything that anyone does with transportation.
The Drive indicates that “Tesla Insurance Services, Inc.” has been incorporated since June 2017. It seems as if they have at least been thinking about executing this idea for a couple of years. Elon Musk has recently announced, though, that the new facet of the company will come to life within just a month or so. With this added to his plate, skeptics wonder how much is too much for one individual to bear.
It’s not explicitly stated that the service will be limited to just Tesla vehicles. However, all early indications point in that direction. It seems as if the company will heavily rely on onboard data from the cars in order to provide customized insurance rates. Much like other onboard diagnostic systems like “Snapshot” from Progressive, Tesla will send data back to their hub to determine rates. For those who weren’t aware, this is currently a practice that is being used to send to other insurance companies data. The brand says it’s done with the aim of lowering rates. An interesting addition is that Tesla vehicles also will have data from interior and exterior cameras.
From what we understand, most companies won’t penalize drivers for bad driving. Instead, they argue that these programs are just to be used to reward good drivers. Try telling us that after we get dropped like a hot potato right after a couple hard accelerations.
The practice of openly raising rates with technology seems to be a thing of the past. However, Musk has yet to say if Tesla will use the data to penalize drivers. It’s also unkown if Tesla’s rates will constantly fluctuate or take one glimpse to provide a rate. We should know more within the coming month.
