This new insurance product will apparently take advantage of data Tesla gathers from the cars' built-in sensors which enable Autopilot. Musk said that Tesla"will certainly incorporate that information into the insurance rates ... we have direct knowledge of the risk profile of customers and based on the car, and then if they want to buy Tesla insurance, they would have to agree to not drive the car in a crazy way. Or they can, but then their insurance rates are higher.
Individually owned vehicles with semi-autonomous features are difficult for insurers to assess because various parties will contest how well the systems perform. Currently, autonomous features in cars like Tesla's are only factored into insurance rates as safety features; the driver is responsible for overseeing the operation of a vehicle and is ultimately liable for the safe operation of a car.
Liability concerns are one of the reasons that ride hailing and autonomous vehicles are so closely linked. As part of ride-hailing fleets, the operator insures all the AVs in use, eliminating any confusion over liability from the consumer's perspective. But negotiating rates with an insurer based on the risk an autonomous system can be a challenge even for ride-hailing operators.
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And the plot thickens....