Who would’ve thought that being a billionaire who the American public did not elect yet is for some reason in charge of ripping apart the federal government while throwing Nazi salutes at crowds and platforming neo-Nazis would eventually hurt the people who bought your cars? Certainly not Elon Musk, who clearly lacks anything even closely resembling foresight. Insurance experts suspect rates might skyrocket for Tesla owners now that anti-Elon vandalism has become the biggest craze to sweep the nation since Beatlemania and Beanie Babies.
Tesla dealerships are being set on fire with Molotov cocktails, Tesla owners are so afraid of their cars getting trashed that they’re dressing them up to look like other cars, and Cybertrucks can’t join a Mardi Gras parade without getting pelted with beer bottles and booed so relentlessly that they have to flee the scene.
The whole Tesla brand is now tainted by its owner, and insurance experts interviewed by Newsweek say that it’s looking quite possible that Tesla owners will soon see a significant jump in their insurance rates.
Tesla vehicles were already some of those expensive cars to insure, but, according to data journalist Matt Brannon from the insurance price comparison site Insurify, “if vandalism involving Tesla vehicles continues to rise and doesn’t go back down, we could see rates rise for comprehensive coverage in the future.”
Bankrate insurance analyst Shannon Martin likens it to a recent-ish internet trend where car thieves posted videos of themselves stealing Kias and Hyundais, which led to some auto insurers refusing to cover those brands.
While Donald Trump is using the power of his presidency to turn the federal government into a giant infomercial for Tesla as his administration labels vandals as domestic terrorists, it’s tough to see a scenario where the resistance dies down.
If you own a Tesla, get ready to cough up some extra cash or maybe get rid of it entirely unless you want it to be set on fire.
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