Tesla Cars 6 Times Less Likely to Have an Accident

The likelihood of accidents is possibly the biggest factor of your car insurance premiums. Tesla’s Model 3 achieved a perfect 5-star safety rating in every category and subcategory tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In fact, of all the cars ever tested by NHTSA, Tesla’s Model 3 has the lowest probability of injury. This record was previously held by Tesla’s Model S, with Model X having the second-lowest probability of injury.

The latest Model 3’s vehicle safety score of 0.38 is unmatched by any other vehicle rated by the NHTSA. This can be attributed to the low center of gravity and 50-50 weight distribution of Tesla cars.

Lower accident rates usually translate to lower car insurance rates, but that has not been the case with Tesla, mainly because of the high cost of replacing the car’s parts. To address the issue, Tesla has started offering car insurance to its customers in California. It is expected that the company will soon expand its insurance services to the rest of the country. Telsa claims that the car insurance premiums of their customers are 30% lower because “the company knows its cars better.”' Tesla’s confidence in the safety of their cars is backed by solid data.

Zimlon has analyzed the statistics released by the NHTSA and Tesla to compare the accident rates of Tesla cars vs. other cars. Here’s a snapshot of our key findings

Autopilot On vs. Autopilot Off

As the graph above shows, a Tesla car is less likely to crash when the autopilot is switched on. Data from last four quarters shows that a Tesla car with the autopilot OFF but the Active safety system ON crashed every 3.09 million miles on average whereas cars by other makers crashed every 1.86 million miles.

Autopilot On vs. Autopilot & Active Safety features Off

Switching off both the Autopilot and Active safety systems in a Tesla car increases the chance of its being involved in a crash. A crash was reported every 1.48 million miles when the Autopilot and Active safety features were both turned off. This is 1.2 million miles less than the distance covered without a crash by Tesla cars when both the safety features were turned on.

Tesla Cars vs. Other Cars

According to data from the NHTSA, a crash was reported on average per 465,500 miles over the four quarters. With a Tesla car, the average distance covered before a crash was 1.48 million miles with no autopilot or active safety systems. If both the safety features are turned on, every Tesla car covers an average distance of 3.09 million miles before a crash, which makes them 6.6 times less likely to crash than a normal car.