You will save money on gas as a Tesla owner, but when it's time to buy car insurance, you may be hit by stickers.

Electric cars like Tesla usually have more car insurance than gasoline cars, as repairs and replacements are often more expensive. Higher repair and replacement costs increase the cost of insurance claims, which then leads to higher auto insurance premiums for these models.

It is not the time to choose an insurance company to do autonomous driving. Comparative shopping is crucial, and in some states, shopping includes getting a car insurance quote from Tesla. This is the way to navigate options.

learn more: Why electric car insurance will cost more and how to save

Tesla began providing auto insurance in California in 2019 and has since expanded to 11 other states.

Tesla Insurance Company offers a full menu of standard coverage, including liability, uninsured/underinsured driver insurance, medical payments, personal injury protection, and collision and full insurance. Other options include rent reimbursement, curbside assistance coverage, and automatic loan/lease gap coverage.

learn more: The most common types of auto insurance types explained

You can get quotes for Tesla Insurance, purchase and manage policies, and file claims through the Tesla app. Just ordered a new Tesla? While waiting for a vehicle, you can get a quote immediately after you have a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and delivery date.

In some states, owners of other vehicles can also purchase Tesla insurance.

learn more: How much car insurance do I need?

Tesla offers auto insurance in the following states:

• Arizona

• California

• Colorado

• Illinois

• Maryland

• Minnesota

• Nevada

• Ohio

• Oregon

• Texas

• Utah

• Virginia

learn more: How does your postal code affect your auto insurance?

In most operating states, the company offers “Tesla Real-Time Insurance” which uses data on the driving behavior of the vehicle you drive to help your policy. Each month, the company calculates a “safety score” based on your first 30 days of driving habits and adjusts your premium based on the amount of mileage and quantity of drives. Higher scores and lower mileage mean lower monthly car insurance premiums. In the first month of policy, the company's security score was 90/100.

learn more: How does auto insurance work? The basics are explained.

Tesla vehicles are equipped with sensors and software to track driving behavior, so there is no need to plug in the device, just like some other usage-based insurance plans.

California’s policy is not based on real-time driving behavior. California Tesla owners can see their safety scores in the Tesla app, but the scores don't affect their car insurance rates.

Other basic factors that affect Tesla's insurance costs are:

• Vehicle manufacturing, model, decoration and year. The higher the cost of repairing or replacing a vehicle, the greater the cost of ensuring it.

• Vehicle garage place. In safer communities, car insurance rates tend to be lower.

• The number and type of coverage. Purchasing fully covered auto insurance, including liability, collision and comprehensive insurance, costs more than buying only minimum liability insurance.

learn more: How the manufacturing and model of a vehicle affects the cost of car insurance

Various driving habits can reduce your safety scores, including:

• Hard braking

• A radical turn

• Too close to another car

• Speeding

• Drive between 11am and 4am

• Driving without wearing a seat belt

• Forced autonomous driving to get out of contact

Forced autopilot disengagement occurs after the vehicle technology determines that you don't have enough drag or inconcentrated drag to the steering wheel. The vehicle issues three warnings before it leaves the autonomous driving system.

For more details on these factors and how they affect scores, visit the Tesla website.

learn more: What is car insurance premium and how to calculate it?

Tesla Insurance offers various auto insurance discounts, but not all states can use it. They include:

• Airbag discounts are available in Nevada if the vehicle is equipped with a driver's side front airbag or airbags on both front sides.

• Discounts available for anti-theft equipment in Illinois and Minnesota are available for vehicles equipped with approved anti-theft equipment. This discount is automatically used for Tesla vehicles, and equipment needs to be confirmed for vehicles other than Tesla.

• Drivers over 55 (60 in Ohio) receive discounts on defensive driving after completing recognized defensive driving classes in California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Ohio, Oregon, Ohio and Virginia. In California, the discount is called the mature driver improvement course discount.

• Full self-driving (FSD) (supervised) discounts are available in Arizona and Texas, allowing more than 50% of the mileage to drive with FSD (supervised) technology enabled. The technology provides automatic emergency braking, collision warning, avoid lane avoidance and other features, but still requires a fully focused driver.

• Excellent and Elite Driver Discounts are available only in California. Good driver discounts are due to no major violations and no more than one minor violation or accident in the past three years. Elite discounts are because there are no fault accidents or any violations in the past five years. Discounts are automatically applied to qualified drivers.

• Group discounts for Tesla employees are available in every state of Tesla’s insurance business.

• Multi-car discounts are available in every state of Tesla's insurance business - insurance for companies with multiple cars.

• Nevada receives a non-stack discount that offers multiple vehicles for having Tesla insurance coverage and buying coverage for uninsured/insured drivers.

Like most insurance providers, Tesla Insurance draws different comments from consumers on Reddit and other websites.

Satisfied customers like the convenience of purchasing and managing the policy and claiming through the app and say they have less coverage than other companies.

A common topic among unpleasant clients revolves around safety scores and their impact on premiums. Some customers say that in urban areas, avoiding driving behaviors that lower scores and lead to higher car insurance rates is challenging.

When conditions are perfect, the cost is low, a client released two years ago, but the potential to be penalized and pay for more coverage "makes you paranoid driving a car."

advantage:

• Lower premium Good driving habits and low mileage

• Easy to purchase and manage policies through the app

• Various discounts available

shortcoming:

• Available in 12 states only

• Monthly premium fluctuations can make auto insurance budgets challenging

• Common discounts such as bundled home and car insurance may not be available

Many insurance companies provide coverage for Tesla people, including large players such as Allstate, Geico, Progressive, State Farm, etc.

And, if you like Tesla’s pricing method based on your actual driving, consider other companies’ usage-based insurance plans, such as State Farm’s Drive Safe & Save. Similar to Tesla's real-time insurance, a usage-based program tracks your driving and offers discounts for good habits and low mileage. Be careful, though, because some usage-based programs may lead to higher rates if you have poor driving scores.

Take these steps to find the best deals for Tesla Auto Insurance:

1. Determine how much coverage you need. Most states require minimal liability insurance, but it is best to buy enough assets. Purchase collision and comprehensive insurance to cover your vehicle; liability insurance covers only the damage and injury you cause to others.

2. shop. Get a quote for the coverage required by at least three insurers, including Tesla insurance if you live in one of the states that offer.

3. Consider bundling or lack of bundling. Own a home? Consider the cost of discounts for bundling home and car insurance, because Tesla does not offer home insurance. If you are considering buying Tesla insurance, compare the cost of buying Tesla auto insurance with the cost of home insurance from another company with the cost of home and auto insurance bundling for other insurance companies.

4. Consider customer service. Talk to other Tesla owners about their experiences with Tesla Insurance. How does it respond to the claims? How challenging is it to achieve high safety scores and keep a low monthly premium? Do you want to work with an agent or primarily through the application?

5. Choose a company that makes the most sense for you. Choose an insurance company that offers low cost and the services you want.

Amy Danise and Tim Manni edited this article.