Tesla cars are becoming a more frequent sight on the road. In 2023, the company sold delivered 1.8 million Model 3/Y cars to its customers—while they aren’t the most dominant car brand, drivers see at least one or two of them during their morning commute.
While these cars occupy a burgeoning position on America’s roads, they have a relatively high fatal crash rate compared to other cars on the road. ISeeCars, a search engine aggregate for used vehicles, “analyzed fatality data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System of model year 2018-2022 cars with [crashes] that resulted in at least one occupant fatality to identify the most dangerous vehicles on U.S. roads today.” Its list includes cars with a fatal accident rate that was at least two times higher than the average car, totaling 23 cars.
What does ISeeCars say?
According to ISeeCars’ findings, Tesla Model Y cars rank at number six, with 10.6 cars in a fatal accident per billion vehicle miles and an accident rate 3.7 times higher than average, and Tesla Model S cars rank at number 23, with 5.8 car per billion vehicle miles and an accident rate 2.0 times higher than average. The report notes that Tesla model cars, alongside the rest of the cars listed, have excellent safety ratings and perform well during crash tests from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
A surprise recall
However, Tesla recently issued a recall for 700,000 vehicles, which “includes certain 2024 Cybertruck, 2017-2025 Model 3, and 2020-2025 Model Y vehicles” due to faulty tire pressure warning lights. The accompanying letter issued by the NHTSA noted that tire pressure warning light failed to illuminate between driving cycles, which means that the driver would not be warned if their tire pressure was too low. This means that there is a non-zero chance that some Tesla cars involved in these accidents had inadequate tire press when they crashed, and its drivers were not properly warned.
This of course, is speculation based on the recall. More research will have to be done to determine if these crashes were due to tire pressure issues or other external factors.
Risk compensation
Beyond any technical failures, there is also the possibility that these crashes are due to driver behavior. There is the theory of “risk compensation,” where individuals engage in risky behavior when they perceive themselves as safe and engage in more careful behavior when they perceive themselves as unsafe.
For instance, if a new car boasts a wide range of safety and automated features, or performed well in crash tests, a driver may be more eager to take on riskier maneuvers because they think the car can protect them entirely. In contrast, if the car was older, had no safety features, and did not perform well in crash tests, a driver may be more careful because they would think the car would not be able to protect them from danger. An interesting avenue of research would be to interview Tesla drivers (or any drivers for these cars that have high accident rates) about their driving habits and if their cars’ safety features factor into them.
What should agents do?
Agents should speak with their insureds about these issues and offer appropriate coverage. You can discuss with them their driving habits, or possible safety concerns in the car they drive. These conversations and subsequent coverage may protect your insureds from accidents and injury.
Matt McDonough is PIA Northeast's writer, editor and content curator. Matt joined PIA Northeast in September 2023. Before that, he had been an editor for the online entertainment magazine Collider from 2021-23 as a copy editor for its lists section. Matt entered the world of journalism at his alma mater, SUNY New Paltz, writing and reporting for the college's student run newspaper, The New Paltz Oracle. He graduated from SUNY New Paltz with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in Creative Writing in 2020.
