Study: Tesla has the Highest Accident Rate of any Auto Brand

[voxel]

A nice detailed analysis.

https://brandonpaddock.substack.com/p/no-tesla-subaru-and-ram-drivers-dont

"In case it’s still not clear to you why making claims like this would be problematic, let me give an example:

• Let’s say you’ve been driving a Ford Fusion for 5 years
• 4 years ago while driving your car, you got rear-ended
• Sometime between November 2022 and November 2023, you decided to look at getting an electric car
• Before buying, you want to know what it will cost to insure, so you search for “car insurance quotes” and end up at LendingTree’s site
• You fill out their form and request a quote for a Tesla Model Y

You now have contributed to this data as a driver with an accident associated with Tesla. Or as the article falsely claimed, you are a “Tesla driver with an accident”. Even though you were driving a Ford when you had the accident."

By LendingTree's logic RAM and Subie drivers are up there with Tesla drivers.

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[Ghost Ryder]

Why didn't they just release the info for cars with the most claims both number and cost per claim? Seems that would be more relevant. Or did they and the author just chose the driver data because it fits his narrative?

 

[voxel]

Why didn't they just release the info for cars with the most claims both number and cost per claim? Seems that would be more relevant. Or did they and the author just chose the driver data because it fits his narrative?

Because the data is from LendingTree and not insurance companies. They do not have that data.
The ONLY data they have is from potential consumers looking for insurance quotes who self-report and accident.

By the data, RAM truck drivers are the worst.

 

[Ghost Ryder]

Because the data is from LendingTree and not insurance companies. They do not have that data.
The ONLY data they have is from potential consumers looking for insurance quotes who self-report and accident.

By the data, RAM truck drivers are the worst.

In that case, then the data is even more useless. As the vast majority of people that are applying for loans can be assume to be buying a car, vs refinancing one, all this data prove is that people that want to buy Teslas are bad driver (compared to avg), not that the car is more dangerous..

 

[Mach1E]

A nice detailed analysis.

https://brandonpaddock.substack.com/p/no-tesla-subaru-and-ram-drivers-dont

"In case it’s still not clear to you why making claims like this would be problematic, let me give an example:

• Let’s say you’ve been driving a Ford Fusion for 5 years
• 4 years ago while driving your car, you got rear-ended
• Sometime between November 2022 and November 2023, you decided to look at getting an electric car
• Before buying, you want to know what it will cost to insure, so you search for “car insurance quotes” and end up at LendingTree’s site
• You fill out their form and request a quote for a Tesla Model Y

You now have contributed to this data as a driver with an accident associated with Tesla. Or as the article falsely claimed, you are a “Tesla driver with an accident”. Even though you were driving a Ford when you had the accident."

By LendingTree's logic RAM and Subie drivers are up there with Tesla drivers.

Yes, this is a discussed flaw in the data.

But this would only skew the results if somehow a statistically significant number of accident prone drivers were disproportionately now buying Teslas and Rams.

There is no reason to assume that to be true or false (we don’t know). But even if it were true, it should be offset by all the safety features in a Tesla for the people driving them (and not just getting random quotes for a car they don’t own/drive).

Like I said at first, we don’t know if it’s causation or correlation.

BMW is high on the list.

Is that because-
BMWs are unsafe

or

BMWs are fast

or

BMW drivers drive like a-holes?


I would say the 3rd thing is the largest factor. No amount of safety equipment makes up for someone passing you at 30 mph over on the right.

 

[Mach1E]

In that case, then the data is even more useless. As the vast majority of people that are applying for loans can be assume to be buying a car, vs refinancing one, all this data prove is that people that want to buy Teslas are bad driver (compared to avg), not that the car is more dangerous..

It doesn’t even prove that. We don’t know the WHY, just the what.


But if we are to just solely look at the car itself-

Would you feel safe giving the keys to a Model S plaid to a 16 year old??

I sure as hell wouldn’t!!

That should tell you exactly about how you feel about the safety of that car.

 

[Ghost Ryder]

It doesn’t even prove that. We don’t know the WHY, just the what.


But if we are to just solely look at the car itself-

Would you feel safe giving the keys to a Model S plaid to a 16 year old??

I sure as hell wouldn’t!!

That should tell you exactly about how you feel about the safety of that car.

I don't feel safe handing the keys of any car to any 16 year old with a fresh license. But they have to learn to drive sometime.

Honestly, I don't think there is any place for a 1000hp car on public roads. But that opens up a can of worms.

 

[OH2AZ2OH]

If only the guy playing the ukulele that passed me on the 101 had read or heeded that warning,

Ahh, the 101. I assume it is worse now than when I was there 20ish years ago. I once got passed by a motorcycle doing a wheelie at I’d guess triple digits. I was doing 70-75, he went by pretty quick.

 

[azerik]

Ahh, the 101. I assume it is worse now than when I was there 20ish years ago. I once got passed by a motorcycle doing a wheelie at I’d guess triple digits. I was doing 70-75, he went by pretty quick.

Yes. Yes it is. I been passed on the RIGHT (with them going through the gore strip) as someone used the on/off ramp as a passing lane. Been run off into the median by a school bus. Been passed by 3 cars in a road rage incident with them using the dirt median (Of the 202 near Val Vista) as passing/racing/shooting lane. Seen tools being thrown from one car at another (gravity and wind speed were never thought of I guess as the only thing they hit were cars behind them).

I used to think it was just stories. But now Ive lived here for almost 20 years and wonder if I'll make it 25.

 

[Mach1E]

I don't feel safe handing the keys of any car to any 16 year old with a fresh license. But they have to learn to drive sometime.

Honestly, I don't think there is any place for a 1000hp car on public roads. But that opens up a can of worms.

No one feels safe handing the keys to a 16 year old.

That’s the point.

And yet all parents do at some point, and which cars do we hand the keys to? The SAFEST car we can choose.

And it absolutely is not a 1000 hp Tesla. Nor is it even the “middle of the road” Teslas that still do 0-60 in 3 seconds.

Why not? Obviously we don’t think those cars are safe.

It’s a simple thought experiment to get to “how you REALLY feel” about if a car is safe or not.

And guess what? My son will be driving in 6 months……..I’m not handing him the keys to my GTPE either. Thinking more along the lines of something big and slow.

 

[Ghost Ryder]

No one feels safe handing the keys to a 16 year old.

That’s the point.

And yet all parents do at some point, and which cars do we hand the keys to? The SAFEST car we can choose.

And it absolutely is not a 1000 hp Tesla. Nor is it even the “middle of the road” Teslas that still do 0-60 in 3 seconds.

Why not? Obviously we don’t think those cars are safe.

It’s a simple thought experiment to get to “how you REALLY feel” about if a car is safe or not.

And guess what? My son will be driving in 6 months……..I’m not handing him the keys to my GTPE either. Thinking more along the lines of something big and slow.

I think we’re confounding 2 separate topics. One is passive/active safety and 2nd is the how likely the car will be misused.

 

[Mach1E]

I think we’re confounding 2 separate topics. One is passive/active safety and 2nd is the how likely the car will be misused.

Yes.

Because both contribute to the likelihood of being involved in an accident (the topic at hand).

 

[voxel]

Yes.

Because both contribute to the likelihood of being involved in an accident (the topic at hand).

It's a chicken/egg problem. I think potential Tesla owners are bit of speed freaks.

I've been looking at trackable cars and one of them is a Camaro SS 1LE. Let me tell you that almost EVERY single used one with the track package has been in one accident... some have had 3 owners and 3 separate accidents. I never bothered looking at insuring one but I can imagine the rates being high.

With potential Subaru owners... there are two types of cars they make - the performance cars and the "great in snow" AWD cars that new potential owners who have had accidents in winter probably gravitate to.

 

[Mach1E]

It's a chicken/egg problem. I think potential Tesla owners are bit of speed freaks.

I've been looking at trackable cars and one of them is a Camaro SS 1LE. Let me tell you that almost EVERY single used one with the track package has been in one accident... some have had 3 owners and 3 separate accidents. I never bothered looking at insuring one but I can imagine the rates being high.

With potential Subaru owners... there are two types of cars they make - the performance cars and the "great in snow" AWD cars that new potential owners who have had accidents in winter probably gravitate to.

Exactly.

Which is why I don’t understand that the Tesla defenders refuse to believe the data could be accurate.

The above is why my car insurance on my old 2002 Trans Am was a bit high.

 

[Ghost Ryder]

Exactly.

Which is why I don’t understand that the Tesla defenders refuse to believe the data could be accurate.

The above is why my car insurance on my old 2002 Trans Am was a bit high.

I think it has to be the click bait title. Tesla and Tesla drivers are two different things.
And anything could be accurate, but is it? There is not enough data on the release report from Lending Tree to say.

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