Like many other vehicles, Teslas must be insured to protect their owners from legal and financial responsibilities when they’re involved in accidents. As you’d expect, ensuring a Tesla model is way more expensive than insuring your sedan, crossover, or SUV. When insuring your Tesla Model S and Model X, factors such as the age of the car, its state, your credit score, and the car’s model are not the only factors that determine the insurance premiums you’ll pay.

These models are high-tech, and their prices are stickier. Repairs also cost more. You’ll also find that different insurance providers offer different rates for the same Tesla models. 

What does it cost to insure a Tesla?

Typically, Teslas are hi-tech and expensive luxury vehicles. The cost of insuring a Tesla reflects the worth of Tesla cars. The CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, is a visionary and techy individual. Business Insider reports Elon is gearing up toward developing 20 million electric vehicles by 2030. Meanwhile, he has ensured the continued production of high-end vehicles integrated with cutting-edge technologies. 

MotorTrend lists the 2021 Tesla Model X Plaid among the most expensive cars to insure for 2021. Inspired by the 1987 sci-fi movie, “The Spaceballs,” Elon developed Model X with a plaid powertrain. Model X is an all-electric SUV capable of reaching 60 mph in three seconds. MotorTrend shows that it costs $4,025 per year to insure this sleek and eco-friendly SUV. 

Leave the Model X Plaid aside. The 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid is even more expensive to insure than its Model X counterpart. With powerful aerodynamics and a tri-motor EV powertrain, the Model S Plaid is the epitome of interstellar speeds. The car reaches 60 mph in just two seconds. Because of the design and the value of the Tesla Model S, insurers charge an average of $4,143 per year. 

Why are the Tesla Model X Plaid and Model S Plaid expensive to insure? 

Well, there are a lot of things that come into an insurer’s mind when insuring expensive cars. According to Allstate, the market price of a car determines how much an insurer will charge. Insurance companies also consider the costs of repairing a car in case it gets damaged during an accident. 

Car insurance for the Tesla Plaid configurations is like for any other car, except you’ll need more coverage because these cars are high-tech. The tech systems integrated with the Tesla Plaid models are so complex that it makes the repair super expensive. 

Tesla Model X Plaid and Model S Plaid are high-end vehicles, which are expensive to purchase and maintain. As such, these cars attract more insurance costs than ordinary vehicles. Compared to Model S and X, the Tesla Model 3 attracts low insurance premiums. It costs an average of $2,215 per year to insure the Model 3.  

Plaid vs Long Range models

The Model X Plaid and Model S Plaid operate on the Tri-Motor All-Wheel Drive platform giving them better acceleration than its Long Range variants that have Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive. The Long Range variant of Model X accelerates from 0-60mph in 3.8 seconds with a top speed of 155mph. The 2021 plaid variant makes 0-60mph in just 2.5 seconds with a top speed of 163 mph. 

The 2021 Model S Plaid accelerates to 60 mph in 1.99 seconds or less and boasts of top speeds of 200 mph. The Long Range variant reaches 60 mph in 3.1 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph. Model S Plaid has superior acceleration than Model X Plaid. It also costs more to buy a Model S. This explains the slightly higher insurance premiums for Model S.  

Tesla models give you superior performance and costly repairs 

Compared to plaid configurations, the insurance costs of non-plaid Tesla models are lower. The Long Range variants of the cars are cheaper to insure because they are much easier to repair. Typically, all Teslas are repaired at a limited set of Tesla-approved body repair shops. It makes sense that the fewer repair shops the higher the costs of repair. 

With superior all-electric tri-motor powertrain, aluminum body, and high-tech integrations, the plaid variants of Model X and Model S are high-performance vehicles but expensive to maintain. This reflects the high insurance covers they attract. 

Note that Tesla offers its own and less expensive insurance in some states. It also provides additional coverage benefits for drivers that use the autopilot feature. The bottom line is that Teslas are made out of expensive parts. They contain high-end batteries and powerful electric powertrains. A combination of these factors makes the Model X Plaid and Model S Plaid costly to insure – more so than the rest of the Tesla models.