Anti-Elon Musk Tesla Vandalism Will Spike Insurance Rates For Owners

Tesla owners could be in for a shock when their insurance premiums renew. The electric vehicle company has been the subject of public ire in the past, but more for the environmental holier-than-thou stance held by owners than company CEO Elon Musk's personal politics. Ever since the company CEO threw up a Nazi salute at Donald Trump's presidential inauguration in January, and began haphazardly dismantling the federal government, Tesla has become an imploding house of cards. Some political opposition activists have taken to attacking the cars as an avenue to channel their hatred of Musk himself. Vandals have pasted Teslas with anti-Nazi graffiti, broken windows, shot empty cars and dealerships, and set cars, chargers, and Tesla property on fire. The world's richest man is firing hundreds of thousands of federal employees and ripping their safety nets to shreds, all while asking why people don't like him. Musk shows no sign of stopping, and the retaliatory Tesla smashing will likely continue.

Tesla was already one of the most expensive automotive brands to insure as the company won't work with independent repair shops, parts are more expensive, and Tesla drivers have been found the most likely to crash in a recent study. 

But even if you're one of the safe Tesla drivers who has never been in a crash and doesn't get speeding tickets, your rates are going up. Regardless of your reason for buying a Tesla, the car has become a target thanks to Elon's ridiculous actions over the last six months. While car insurance is getting more expensive for every car across the board, Insurify told Newsweek that Tesla's popular Model 3 increased more than any other car, an incredible 30 percent year over year, averaging $4,362 annually. Depending on trim and options, you could be paying ten percent of your car's MSRP in insurance every year, and if it trends continue ramping up, it could get much worse. 

"As we have learned from the 2023 TikTok theft trend targeting certain model Kias and Hyundais, if these types of losses continue, carriers could refuse to offer coverage for Tesla vehicles altogether," Bankrate insurance analyst Shannon Martin told Newsweek.

With Elon Musk seemingly leaving his numerous companies and dozen-plus children in the dust to become an acting head-of-state and rub elbows with international leaders, it doesn't seem that he'll be dedicating much time to the EV company that made him a household name. The more time he spends messing with the government and spewing Nazi talking points, the more public the hatred aimed at him will become, and more Teslas will continue to get tagged and firebombed. If you are a Tesla owner and want to continue being a Tesla owner, you'll just have to deal with higher insurance rates as part of your dedication to the brand. Tesla, for better or worse, has inextricably linked itself to the company CEO and whatever ire he has brought upon himself infects his companies as well, and in a way that can't be washed off. Even if Tesla were to push Elon out as CEO today, it probably wouldn't be able to recover from the stink he's left behind on the company. 

If you have a Tesla and you don't want to pay the exorbitant insurance rates, just make sure you drop your coverage down from comprehensive to simply collision coverage. You won't be covered in the event of vandalism on your car, but you could probably pay for it yourself with all the money you saved on cheaper insurance. Then again, you'll have to own the car outright in order to drop your insurance coverage below comprehensive, because most bank loans require comprehensive insurance be held in order to protect their investment in loaning you the money to buy the car in the first place. This is all a roundabout way of saying that this doesn't really affect you if you're wealthy enough to have paid cash for your Tesla. Good luck, everyone else.