Study: Tesla Drivers Found To Have Highest Accident Rate

Tesla is a brand that frequently makes headlines related to high insurance costs. Despite the brand’s push for full self-driving technology (Tesla’s term, not ours), Tesla drivers were recently found to be the most likely to crash. Tesla drivers edged out Ram and Subaru-brand drivers in this regard, and Tesla drivers also score near the top in overall insurance-related incidents.

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Researchers analyzed tens of millions of QuoteWizard by LendingTree insurance quotes from Nov. 14, 2022, through Nov. 14, 2023. To determine the best and worst drivers by car brand, they calculated the number of driving incidents per 1,000 drivers by brand in all 50 states. The sub-categories included accidents, DUIs, speeding, and citations. The 30 brands with the highest number of quotes were examined.

Categories that fell under citations included:
-Carelessness or recklessness
-Improper lane usage, improper passing and improper turning
-No insurance or no license to operate a vehicle or misrepresenting a license
-Failure to yield to a car or pedestrian
-Safety violations, following another vehicle closely and passing a bus
-Not signaling
-Hit-and-runs involving a bicycle or pedestrian
-Having defective equipment or using the wrong road
-Comprehensive or other citations

The area in which Tesla stood out most was Accidents per 1,000 drivers. In this category, Tesla ranked first with a score of 23.54. Ram was second with a score of 22.76, and Subaru third with a score of 20.90. These are the highest-scoring brands by far. By contrast, Toyota had a score of just 17.18. Among the brands currently in production, Chrysler had the lowest score, just half that of Tesla. Accidents in Tesla's battery-electric veihcles can result in total losses much more commonly than other brands. 

When all driving incidents were calculated (not just accidents), Tesla scored second-worst, just behind Ram. Tesla’s score was 21.93. By contrast, Acura scored 19.91. And Cadillac 17.93. “A vehicle’s crash rate is just one of the factors insurance companies look at to determine how risky a particular model may be to insure,” says Rob Bhatt, LendingTree insurance expert and a licensed insurance agent. “That said, a prior ticket, accident or DUI on your driving record usually has a bigger impact on your rates than your vehicle’s safety record.”

According to the study’s authors, a high incident and high accident rate has three resulting impacts on the affordability of a vehicle. First, higher insurance premiums. Bhatt says. “Accidents can increase your rates by about 40%. With a DUI, you could be looking at a rate increase of 60% or more.” Second, the resulting fines and fees resulting from such as speeding and drunk driving. The third result may be a suspended driver’s license.
Tesla manufacturers vehicles it claims have a 0-60 MPH time of around two seconds. Even its more mainstream products have sprint times near 3 seconds. Bhatt says, “regardless of the vehicle you drive, it’s important to be responsible behind the wheel. If you look at crash statistics, you’ll see that speeding, impairment and distracted driving are among the leading causes of car crashes.

To view more data from the study, please view the study’s conclusion page.

Image of Tesla Model S driver speeding while engaged in distracted driving by John Goreham.

John Goreham is an experienced New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can follow John on Twitter, and connect with him at Linkedin.