Chief Executive Elon Musk has been one of the strongest proponents of the idea that car insurance rates should plummet as driver-assist and self-driving technology become standard.
U.S. insurers say they currently do not have sufficient data to validate auto industry promises of safety benefits from automated driving systems, citing automakers’ reluctance to provide detailed information on models sold with those features, a lack of consistent standards, drivers’ unpredictable use of the systems and higher repair costs.
Tesla is one of the few manufacturers whose vehicles are largely standard-equipped with advanced driver assistance features, including cameras monitoring lane keeping and recording vehicle surroundings.
California regulatory insurance filings in May said Tesla’s insurance product might use “direct data feeds with customer permission.”
But Tesla’s insurance website states it uses “anonymized, aggregate data” to inform insurance rates, adding that it does not currently use data from individual vehicles, such as GPS or video footage.
Edmonds on Wednesday said the company currently was not using much data beyond regular auto insurance pricing components, which include variables such as a driver’s age, years of driving experience, safety record and annual mileage.
He declined to say when the company would consider using additional data to price insurance rates.
Asked what states Tesla would expand its insurance program to next, Edmonds said: “Find the states where the population is, those will be the states we’ll be going to.”