Nearly 150,000 Tesla cars use the company's new safety score. This tool was introduced last month to determine whether Tesla owners have access to the beta version its Full Self-Driving Software. Executives spoke during the third quarter earnings call.
Although 150,000 cars have joined the Full-Self Driving beta enrollment program, only a small number of drivers have had access to the software. Over the past year, only 2,000 drivers were able to test FSD. Tesla released version 10.2 earlier this month to approximately 1,000 additional owners who have perfect safety scores.
Tesla charges $10,000 for FSD software. Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has long promised that autonomous driving will be possible. FSD-equipped Tesla cars are not autonomous. FSD, an advanced driver assistance system, includes Summon, a parking tool, and Navigate on Autopilot. This active guidance system navigates the car from highway on-ramps to off-ramps, making interchanges, and making lane changes.
FSD Beta, the latest version of FSD, is designed to automate driving on city streets and highways. It is still a Level 2 driver aid system. This requires that the driver pay attention, keep their hands on the wheel, and maintain control.
Tesla sees other uses for the safety score. It is used to limit access to FSD. The feature will be used by the company to improve its telematics-based insurance product. It was launched in Texas in October. To predict the likelihood of a collision, the safety score considers braking, turning and tailgating.
Tesla has collected over 100 million miles worth of driving data so far. Analysis of this data showed that the likelihood of a collision between a customer with a safety score and someone without it is 30% lower according to Zachary Kirkhorn (chief financial officer at Tesla).
He said that it means the product works and customers respond to it.
Kirkhorn stated that Tesla cars can be connected and the company can use huge amounts of data to evaluate drivers' attributes and determine if they correlate with safety. This data was used by Tesla to develop a model that can predict the likelihood of a collision over time.
Kirkhorn said that the model is imperfect, but it is a function the data we have. We continue to expand our data set and experiment with new variables. Once we are able to predict collision frequency, we can align it against a price curve.
This allows Tesla to offer personalized pricing. It is integrated into the vehicle, the app and the customer experience. The feedback loop communicates to the driver the driving adjustments that are needed to reduce the chance of a collision.
Tesla discovered that traditional insurance companies calculated premiums using static and current data. This included information such as accident history, marital status, or age. Kirkhorn stated that low-risk customers often overpay for their insurance. This overpayment is then used to subsidize higher-risk customers.
Kirkhorn said that we looked at the data and looked at this.
Tesla has been offering insurance in California for approximately two years. However, Texas will be the first state to have premiums determined by safety scores. Kirkhorn stated that the company has a plan of expanding its insurance offerings to other states as soon as it gets regulatory approvals. The company's goal is to be present in every major market where Tesla cars are sold.
