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Study: Tesla Drivers Have the Most Insurance Incidents

A Tesla Model Y being lifted onto a tow truck.

Tesla drivers report more insurance incidents than drivers of any other brand of car, according to a new study. They’ve seen their rate spike in the last year.

Lending Tree gathered data for its study from its own users. The company has a service that helps drivers find better car insurance rates. To use it, drivers must input their driving history. Lending Tree analysts used that information to collate data on insurance claims among drivers of different car brands.

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Tesla drivers, they found, reported about 37 incidents (accidents, DUIs, speeding tickets, and other citations) per 1,000 drivers in 2024. That’s up from 31 in 2023.

Ram drivers had the most incidents in last year’s data but came in second this year with 34. Subaru took third place with 33.

Ram, however, took first in nearly a third of states. In New Jersey, Lending Tree says, they reported an alarming 74 incidents per 1,000 drivers.

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The safest drivers? Mercury owners reported just 19 incidents. Mercury, a former Ford brand, folded in 2011, so those drivers may be babying cars with increasingly hard-to-find parts. Pontiac, also long defunct, came in second. Fans of discontinued brands will mourn to know that, for the first time, Lending Tree didn’t get enough data from Saturn drivers to include them in the results.

Among automakers still in operation, Cadillac had the most careful owners. They reported 21 incidents.