【】
In the self-driving future envisioned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, car owners might be saying "goodbye" to a whole lot more than steering wheels.
Musk is so sure of the safety features bundled into Tesla vehicles that his company has begun offering some customers a lifetime insurance and maintenance package at the time of purchase.
No more monthly insurance bills. No more unexpected repair costs.
SEE ALSO:Guy sacrifices Tesla to save unconscious driver, Elon Musk offers to cover repair costsThe news was dropped Wednesday in an earnings call, and suggests that Tesla executives believe they are uniquely qualified to change the way new cars are priced and purchased.
"We’ve been doing it quietly," Tesla President of Global Sales and Service Jonathan McNeill explained on the call, "but in Asia in particular where we started this, now the majority of Tesla cars are sold with an insurance product that is customized to Tesla, that takes into account not only the Autopilot safety features but also the maintenance costs of the car."
It's important to note that, like so many things in life, this service isn't free. Rather, the cost of lifetime insurance and maintenance is built into the initial purchase price. Even so, that gives customers a straightforward way of knowing how much a new Tesla will actually cost in the long run. And if the Tesla autopilot feature makes the cars safer, as the company has asserted it does, insurance rates may theoretically be less expensive than for a typical non-autonomous vehicle.
It's unclear how much the lifetime insurance and maintenance bundle costs. We reached out to Tesla for clarification, but have yet to hear back.
"It’s our vision in the future that we’ll be able to offer a single price for the car, maintenance and insurance in a really compelling offering for the consumer," added McNeill. "And we’re currently doing that today."
Musk insisted that this move is not about disrupting the insurance market — as long as insurance companies agree to play nice. "If we need to we’ll insource it," he said of the included insurance plan, "but I think we’ll find that insurance partners do adjust rates proportionate to the risk of a Tesla."
No word yet on when this offering will become widely available, but as Tesla has shown time and time again, the company has a habit of following through on bold predictions.
UPDATE: Feb. 23, 2017, 1:32 p.m. PST The top quote in this story was initially attributed to Tesla VP of Global Investor Relations Jeff Evanson. The quote in fact comes from Tesla President of Global Sales and Service Jonathan McNeill. This post has also been updated to note that we reached out to Tesla for clarification on costs.
Featured Video For You
Kick off and sail the skies with this personal aircraft
TopicsTeslaElon Musk
相关文章
How Hyperloop One went off the rails
In December 2014, an engineer with the unlikely name Brogan BamBrogan was in the driveway of his cla2024-11-10Netflix tests new price increase strategy for 'Ultra' plan with HDR
Netflix price changes are always controversial. But luckily, it looks like the streaming company's l2024-11-10Justin Bieber confirms engagement to Hailey Baldwin in gushing Instagram post
Well, it's official. Biebs is betrothed to Hailey Baldwin. And, he proclaimed the news to the world2024-11-10Timehop hacked: Names, emails, phone numbers stolen
If you're a Timehop user, we've got some really bad news. The app, which reminds you of your past so2024-11-10Satisfy your Olympics withdrawals with Nike's latest app
Following in the footsteps of last year's successful launch of Nike's Tech Book is back in its secon2024-11-10Instagram will let some users request verification inside its app
It may soon be a little easier for some people to get that coveted blue checkmark on Instagram.The F2024-11-10
最新评论