He is implying that the algorithms used by insurance companies are optimizing for profit instead of solely accessing the risk of payout. In other words, Tesla drivers are willing to pay a higher premium to mitigate the same risk.
They are a sole source provider of sorts and maintain a tight lock on authorized body shops. Even a car with lots of low volume high cost parts like a Benz has a competitive market of resellers, dealers and service providers.
Tesla is the problem here. Having them be an insurance provider just makes them a bigger problem.
A little googling shows sentences like "Any body shop you are considering to repair your BMW 5 and 6 series, should be specifically equipped to perform special aluminum welding." and "As part of our CERTIFICATIONS by various manufacturers, we are required to purchase state of the art tools specifically for aluminum repair."
Have you noticed the massive amount of money the competing car companies spend on advertising? Have you ever suspected collusion when you shopped for your own car insurance?
Have you ever suspected that maybe they put so much effort into advertising because it takes a lot to get someone to bother to switch insurers?
I don't switch because it's a pain to even try. I've had experiences in which a price I was quoted turned out to be lower than I was actual billed, so I don't have a lot of confidence that I'll get a straight answer if I do ask for quotes for new companies. I'm not sure I have accurate answers for questions they might ask. So I keep paying whatever, even though it's more than I like.
For all I know, I could be paying half as much elsewhere. This is just the company I've been with for many, many years.
So is service when you make a claim (I've been "screwed over" twice when making car insurance claims). And so is obfuscation of services provided. So is money spent on advertising. And lobbying.
All insurance companies compete with a unique strategy on the mix of variables.
Why would dozens of car insurers in multiple states collude to hurt poor Tesla and put themselves at risk of Federal and State sanction? If they were doing that for a tiny niche automaker like Tesla, why wouldn’t they screw over BMW or Lexus?
This whole controversy is just a distraction to draw attention from Tesla’s service practices and support for a integrated “car as a service” model where Tesla owns financing, sales and insurance.
Because Tesla markets itself as "the safest car on the road".
> collude
Who is saying anything about collusion?
When you have a highly competitive market, and most participants decide to make an identical business decision that isn’t in their competitive interest (ie charge a high margin for a commodity), that’s generally accepted as evidence of collusion.
Additionally how does that turn the car insurance world upside down?