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Comment by JKCalhoun | Hacker News Reader

> Collision damage claims for large luxury vehicles are reported 13 percent more frequently than average, and those claims cost about 50 percent higher than average, the Highway Loss Data Institute said. The rear-wheel-drive Tesla Model S is involved in 46 percent more claims than average, and those claims cost more than twice than average, it said.

Go with the data then. Perhaps luxury car owners are more likely to make a claim from even a minor scratch? And since they are "luxury cars" there is more of a premium on repairs? Just throwing out guesses, but as I say they have the data and should charge as appropriate.

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I drove a Leaf for a while and one issue fellow owners faced was that regen braking plus one-pedal driving meant the car could slow down very quickly without people expecting it. The Model S/X do put on the brake lights when this happens, unlike the Leaf, but I'm curious if they get rear-ended more often than other vehicles.

> Tesla said the high rate of acceleration in both the Model S and Model X make it "false and misleading" to compare against vehicles such as the XC70

That's a bullshit response from Tesla, roughly equivalent to 'our cars are special snowflakes and should not be compared to other cars (but only when it makes us look bad)' - I see zero reason to believe that faster acceleration means fewer claims and would love to see their evidence that contradicts what this article states.

Their owners are filing more claims and more expensive claims. The way insurance works is those people pay a higher rate (or insurance loses money on them).

> I see zero reason to believe that faster acceleration means fewer claims

I think what they mean is that the fast acceleration puts the Tesla cars in the "luxury" bracket, but really they should be in a regular bracket.

I think Tesla is arguing the opposite? AAA is comparing the cost of repairs of Tesla's do cars that cost less than half as much. Tesla is saying their costs should be compared to other cars of comparable value (other high end luxury vehicles).

I didn't notice anything about the types of claims. The acceleration could contribute to rear end collisions if someone stops quickly after accelerating, i.e. pulling into traffic, and the person behind not reacting quickly enough. Almost all of my "accidents" have been this on the receiving end, but minus the crazy acceleration.

>> That's a bullshit response from Tesla

It's a Chewbacca Defense. At the end of the day the evidence shows Tesla owners should pay more due to the frequency and cost of claims, thus higher rates. Squabbling about whether Telsa vehicles should be compared to luxury SUVs, Bentleys, Lamborghinis or whatever just muddies the water. AAA put the comparison out there so they have only themselves to blame for providing the ammo, but that doesn't actually salvage Tesla's (non-)argument.

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