In response to a question during its quarterly earnings conference call, Tesla founder Elon Musk explained that the electric vehicle manufacturer was planning to launch an insurance product for Tesla owners. Last year, Tesla began opening its own collision repair centers.
When asked if Tesla was considering creating an insurance program to simplify the ownership experience Musk said, “The answer is, yes, we are creating a Tesla insurance product and we hope to launch that in about a month. It will be much more compelling than anything else out there.”
Responding to questions about the data Tesla vehicles generate that the vehicle manufacturer collects, Musk said the company does share some data with insurers today and considers that data a crucial factor that will enable it to properly price its insurance product to be a success.
“We do give some more detailed information to insurance companies to help with rates. And obviously as we launch our own insurance product next month, we will certainly incorporate that information into the insurance rates,” said Musk. “We have direct knowledge of the risk profile of customers and based on the car and then if they want to buy Tesla insurance, they would have to agree to not drive the car in a crazy way. Or they can, but then their insurance rates are higher.”
Tesla reported automotive revenue of $3.7 billion for the first quarter, down from $6.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018, but up 36 percent from $2.7 billion in the first quarter of 2018.