Tesla Insurance: A look at its cost and which states it's available in

Tesla is rapidly expanding their insurance offering

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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

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

@GailAlfarATX/Twitter

Big reason to own a Tesla in the states where they offer insurance. next month insurance will be $60/month, down from 88 because of a 98 safety score maintained. Best car ever @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/fROEsx3Wfa

— Gail Alfar (Texas) (@GailAlfarATX) May 8, 2022

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 insurance price is insanely low. Six cars covered with two Plaids and includes my brother in the coverage for $599 per month! 9K miles/car $500 comp, $1k collision. Progressive wanted over $1k/month ??‍♂️ @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/rAWDjoxJi8

— Ziggy (@mcjazz1232) January 25, 2022

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Tesla LFP Batteries Can Now Be Warmed up While Supercharging Using Innovative Feature

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Tesla’s been on a roll with Supercharger improvements lately, from the 325kW charging update for the Cybertruck, to 500kW with V4 Superchargers coming next year. While those improvements have been limited to the Cybertruck, Tesla didn’t put all their focus on their new flagship vehicle, but looked at their more affordable vehicles as well.

LFP Battery Heating

Tesla’s Superchargers can now heat LFP Batteries - those that are in the Model 3 and Model Y Rear Wheel Drive variants. This applies to Long Range and Standard Range models, which saw a limited run. This is another update included as part of the 2024 Tesla Holiday Update - which really arrived with a lot of unannounced new features and capabilities.

The change is pretty interesting - Superchargers of the V3 and V4 variety can now pre-heat batteries for Model 3 and Model Y vehicles equipped with LFP battery packs. That means those vehicles are able to get back on the road faster when it's extremely cold. Of course, Tesla still advises you to precondition before you arrive, saving drivers time and money.

Max de Zegher, Tesla’s Director of Charging, also commented on the new feature. Essentially, Tesla is inducing an AC (alternating) ripple current through the battery to warm it up. Keep in mind that Superchargers are DC charging. That means it is possible to get a cold-soaked LFP vehicle on the road 4x faster than before, assuming that it didn’t precondition at all and that it is in the worst-case scenario (below 0ºF).

In essence, Tesla is using some engineering magic to turn the circuits inside the LFP battery into an electric heater - and powering that heater through the Supercharger. An AC ripple current is a small oscillation in the DC charging current that generates heat through electrical resistance, warming up the battery. Those ripples are a byproduct of converting AC to DC and back - so Tesla is using the onboard charger to induce those ripples to warm up the battery. Definitely an innovative technique that’s really only possible with the versatility of the NACS connector.

We’re hoping Tesla can implement this across their full lineup of vehicles, but we’ll have to wait and see how it is trialed across LFP vehicles first and if it is even possible on vehicles with 2170 or 4680 battery packs.

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Tesla Included FSD V12.6.1 and V13.2.4 in the Same Update: What Caused This and What It Means

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Tesla launched two FSD updates simultaneously on Saturday night, and what’s most interesting is that they arrived on the same software version. We’ll dig into that a little later, but for now, there’s good news for everyone. For Hardware 3 owners, FSD V12.6.1 is launching to all vehicles, including the Model 3 and Model Y. For AI4 owners, FSD V13.2.4 is launching, starting with the Cybertruck.

FSD V13.2.4

A new V13 build is now rolling out to the Cybertruck and is expected to arrive for the rest of the AI4 fleet soon. However, this build seems to be focused on bug fixes. There are no changes to the release notes for the Cybertruck with this release, and it’s unlikely to feature any changes when it arrives on other vehicles.

While this update focuses on bug fixes, Tesla’s already working on bigger features for FSD V13.3, which we have already confirmed to include improvements to highway following and speed control.

FSD V12.6.1

FSD V12.6.1 builds upon V12.6, which is the latest FSD version for HW3 vehicles. While FSD V12.6 was only released for the redesigned Model S and Model X with HW3, FSD V12.6.1 is adding support for the Model 3 and Model Y.

While this is only a bug-fix release for users coming from FSD V12.6, it includes massive improvements for anyone coming from an older FSD version. Two of the biggest changes are the new end-to-end highway stack that now utilizes FSD V12 for highway driving and a redesigned controller that allows FSD to drive “V13” smooth.

It also adds speed profiles, earlier lane changes, and more. You can read our in-depth look at all the changes in FSD V12.6.

Same Update, Multiple FSD Builds

What’s interesting about this software version is that it “includes" two FSD updates, V12.6.1 for HW3 and V13.2.4 for HW4 vehicles. While this is interesting, it’s less special when you understand what’s happening under the hood.

The vehicle’s firmware and Autopilot firmware are actually completely separate. While a vehicle downloading a firmware update may look like a singular process, it’s actually performing several functions during this period. First, it downloads the vehicle’s firmware. Upon unpacking the update, it’s instructed which Autopilot/FSD firmware should be downloaded.

While the FSD firmware is separate, the vehicle can’t download any FSD update. The FSD version is hard-coded in the vehicle’s firmware that was just downloaded. This helps Tesla keep the infotainment and Autopilot firmware tightly coupled, leading to fewer issues.

What we’re seeing here is that HW3 vehicles are being told to download one FSD version, while HW4 vehicles are being told to download a different version.

While this is the first time Tesla has had two FSD versions tied to the same vehicle software version, the process hasn’t actually changed, and what we’re seeing won’t lead to faster FSD updates or the ability to download FSD separately. What we’re seeing is the direct result of the divergence of HW3 and HW4.

While HW3/4 remained basically on the same FSD version until recently, it is now necessary to deploy different versions for the two platforms. We expect this to be the norm going forward, where HW3 will be on a much different version of FSD than HW4. While each update may not include two different FSD versions going forward, we may see it occasionally, depending on which features Autopilot is dependent on.

Thanks to Greentheonly for helping us understand what happened with this release and for the insight into Tesla’s processes.

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