Geico And The Tesla Cybertruck Mess

We early covered a validated story that Geico would no longer cover the Cybertruck, only to find that Geico now says that it is wrong and that they will cover it. However, we continue to hear from Cybertruck owners that their Geico insurance has been canceled. This is on top of the bath Cybertruck owners take when they try to resell their Cybertruck. 

So, what is going on? Well, apparently, Geico will insure the Cybertruck, but the policy isn’t going to be inexpensive, given that they are pushing Cybertruck owners over to their commercial division for insurance. This is typically a lot more expensive than consumer insurance because commercial vehicles are driven more, driving up insurance rates.

So, what the heck is going on with the Cybertruck? It is a bigger Tesla problem.

The Tesla Repair Problem

I have a friend who has a Tesla Model 3 that is still under warranty and not driven that much. The other day, he was in a rush and had opened his back door but failed to shut it when he backed out of his garage and sprung the door (basically, the door hinge is now broken, and the electric window doesn’t work). The estimate for the repair is, for a Tesla, around $3K; however, even though we have a large Tesla dealership in town, he has to drive it 180 miles to another Tesla dealership to get it fixed because none of the shops where we live will touch the car.

To get a Tesla replaced, you need a Tesla-certified body shop (not unusual, given Teslas are mostly aluminum and the body is one piece, so you can’t easily replace a fender). You do need special skills. However, even though Tesla dealerships are having trouble getting parts, body shops appear to fall behind the dealerships, and body shops don’t want customers' cars sitting around for months waiting for parts. The extra business wasn’t worth the extra aggravation, and thus, the shops where I live won’t touch the cars.

This is unique to Tesla as I’ve had several other electric and electric hybrid cars repaired in town without difficulty. However, Tesla appears to be uniquely challenging to work with.

Cybertruck

The Cybertruck's enormous size makes it particularly difficult to repair. It takes up a lot of room, and body shops typically don’t have unlimited space, so getting the thing repaired is likely more difficult than with any other Tesla due to its size.

This also means extra difficulty for the insurance underwriter because they have to manage the repair process, which may require the truck to move to alternative locations (it is always trailered). This significantly increases what they have to pay out, thus requiring higher premiums.

But they could have just raised the premium from within their consumer unit. There shouldn’t have been a need to move Cybertruck customers over to their commercial division, except that, given the extra care that commercial vehicles need, the commercial division may simply be better staffed to handle the kinds of problems that Tesla, and particularly Cybertruck, are experiencing. 

Finally, given the size and weight of the Cybertruck, the damage they can do in a collision is significant. EVs are getting into more accidents than their ICE counterparts, but even here, the Cybertruck stands out, not in a good way. 

Wrapping Up: Geico Is Attempting To Contain Costs

Ensuring the Tesla Cybertruck is becoming increasingly difficult and much more expensive. While EVs, in general, do seem to be getting into more accidents, the size and weight of the Cybertruck make it more like a commercial vehicle. The difficulty in finding a repair shop that will take it and the parts that it will need has apparently convinced Geico that it is a commercial, not a consumer, vehicle.

The result was that many Cybertruck owners were having their Geico insurance revoked and being told to go somewhere else or convert to Geico commercial insurance. Despite the problems, users appear to mostly still love the Cybertruck, but they are enduring an unprecedented amount of aggravation. 

Rob Enderle is a technology analyst at Torque News who covers automotive technology and battery development. You can learn more about Rob on Wikipedia and follow his articles on Forbes, X, and LinkedIn.