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by FilthyAnalyst 2725 days ago
One major cost with Tesla is the insurance. I was quoted $380 a month on a model 3. I pay ~$700 for 6 months on 3 cars, 2 of them are 20 year old beaters and one is a new mini convertible.
1 comments

Why is the insurance so high? I thought the safety features made it more safe == less insurance?
A small part of it is the aluminum body panels, I think. Aluminum body panels can be repaired, similar to steel, but requires additional training/different tools. The Model S and X are majority Aluminum, whereas the Model 3 is mostly steel with a rear aluminum subframe. Basically if you get in a fender bender you need to go to a specialty aluminum body shop, which don't exist in high quantities outside of south bay.
Anecdotally, my Tesla 3 costs the same to insure as my 2006 G35.

Just looked it up it’s $899 for the G35 and $913 per year for the Tesla.

It helps to not have had an accident or a ticket in over 10 years.

Same here - my insurance stayed exactly the same going from a 2010 Nissan Altima to a new Tesla Model 3.
Cost to repair and near absolute unavailability of non-OEM spare parts doesn't help.
It also seems like even moderate damage, which would NOT be a write off on an ICE vehicle, results in them totaling it because Tesla refuses to work on anything with even relatively insignificant damage (and they won't touch anything that has a salvage title, so never buy a used Tesla with a salvage title. Ever.).