Tesla to offer lifetime car maintenance and insurance

Tesla has begun offering lifetime insurance policies to some buyers, with the packages also covering vehicle maintenance.

According to Tesla’s president of global sales and service, Jonathan McNeill, the insurance and maintenance package has been quietly rolling out to shoppers in Asian markets, where it’s proven very popular.

According to a report in Business Insider, McNeill says that the majority of Tesla buyers in Asia have opted to shell out for the package.

Tesla hasn’t yet confirmed the price of the package, nor has it hinted when it might be available to shoppers in other markets.

However, the offering stems in large part from the company’s confidence in its semi-autonomous, which will eventually become fully-autonomous, Autopilot software.

It is generally believed that if self-driving cars can reduce the risk of collisions, then risk premium should also be reduced.

According to the US-based National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, crash rates for Tesla dropped 40% since autopilot was first installed.

“If we find that the insurance providers are not matching the insurance proportionate to the risk of the car then if we need to we will in-source it,” Tesla chief Elon Musk says.

“But I think we’ll find that insurance providers do adjust the insurance cost proportionate to the risk of a Tesla.”