CEO Elon Musk spoke at his company’s annual shareholder meeting, addressing the topic of the Tesla insurance he’d previously promised to drivers of the automaker’s electric vehicles.
Musk insists that the electric vehicle insurance product is still in the works, only delayed.
Musk explained that the Tesla insurance product would become available after an unspecified acquisition is completed. He also pointed out that additional software was in development. The Tesla electric vehicle insurance would become available after that becomes ready.
As was previously reported by Live Insurance News, Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett cautioned Tesla against entering into this industry. He forecasted struggle in the automaker’s future if it attempts to step into the auto insurance business. “I’d bet against any company in the auto business,” entering the insurance industry, he said.
Earlier this week during Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting, Musk said that though the insurance product is delayed, it’s not gone. He’d initially thought that the insurance policies would launch in May. Though that clearly didn’t happen, the product is still on its way.
The Tesla insurance product is on its way in the near future after a few final details are polished off.
“We’re pretty close to being able to release that. We have a small acquisition that we need to complete and a bit of software to write,” said Musk as quoted in a CNBC report.
Musk initially said it would take about a month for Tesla to launch its own insurance product. That occurred in April during an earnings conference call, as reported by Live Insurance News at the time. He stated that Tesla’s “direct knowledge” of the risk profile of its drivers – due to their extensive knowledge “based on the car” – gave them a considerable advantage in insuring them. He added that this provided the automaker with an “information arbitrage opportunity.”
The reason Musk is enthusiastic to launch the Tesla insurance for the company’s customers is to provide 
the opportunity for coverage with lower rates. The AutoPilot technology’s internal data will be leveraged to help the company try to keep premiums down.
