Tesla Motors Annoyed After AAA Raised Insurance Rates on Its Cars

The American Automobile Association thinks Tesla cars should cost more to insure due to abnormally high claim frequencies and expenditures compared to similar vehicles. The group said premiums for Tesla’s Model X and Model S could increase by up to 30 percent, based primarily on data from the Highway Loss Data Institute. “Looking at a much broader set of countrywide data, we saw the same patterns observed in our own data, and that gave us the confidence to change rates,” said Anthony Ptasznik, chief actuary of AAA.

Obviously, Tesla Motors isn’t pleased and is offering a rebuttal before other insurers follow in AAA’s footsteps.

“This analysis is severely flawed and is not reflective of reality,” the automaker said in a statement emailed to Automotive News. “Among other things, it compares Model S and X to cars that are not remotely peers, including even a Volvo station wagon.”

Tesla asserts that it is “false and misleading” to compare its products against vehicles like the XC70, specifying that the Model S held the lowest likelihood of injury, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. While that may be true, the Highway Loss report showed the Model S possessing a 46 percent higher claims rate than normal with repair bills over double the industry average.

The report places the car alongside other large luxury vehicles 90 to 110 cubic feet in length and between 3,500 and 4,500 pounds. Included in this group are models like the BMW 5 Series, Audi A6, and Mercedes-Benz E class — company Tesla says the Model S doesn’t belong with.

[Image: Tesla Motors]