Tesla Drivers Get Into The Most Crashes — But Why?

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Tesla drivers get into the most crashes, according to a recent survey conducted by LendingTree. The survey was conducted over the course of a year, from November 14, 2022, to November 14, 2023. Overall, Tesla drivers were identified as the second worst drivers in the study — but the worst for accidents.

On the metric where Tesla “led” (i.e., lost), Tesla drivers had 23.54 accidents per 1,000 drivers. Ram (22.76) and Subaru (20.90) drivers were the next worst, and the three of them were the only brands to score more than 20.00 accidents per 1,000 drivers.

I discussed this finding with Jo Borras on an episode of EVObsession that is publishing soon. He was quick to bring up Autopilot and Full Self Driving, but I don’t think those are the issues in this case. I think the issue is that many people have been attracted to the brand because of how fast the cars accelerate, and then go out there and drive too wild, resulting in crashes. There are plenty of stories along these lines, and it’s just common sense. The first thing people are told to do when test driving a Tesla is stomp on the pedal and experience the exhilaration of the instant torque and powerful motors. I have the slowest Tesla on the market, and it’s still super quick. The quicker versions genuinely feel dangerous to me at times. But it’s not really about how fast they can accelerate — it’s about people being attracted to the brand because of that performance and then abusing it. And, yes, part of that has been the brand’s marketing for the past decade plus.

Overall, Tesla ranked second for having the worst drivers. Ram actually beat it out in the overall ranking due to its slightly worse combo of accidents, DUIs, speeding, and citations. Ram scored 32.90 overall, while Tesla scored 31.13 and Subaru 30.09.

Ram ranked worst in 23 states, while Tesla ranked worst in 11 states. Those were the only two brands that topped the rankings in 10 or more states.

“It’s hard to nail down why certain brands may have higher accident rates than others. However, there are indications that certain types of vehicles attract riskier drivers than others,” LendingTree writes.

There’s one area where Tesla didn’t get a podium position — DUIs. “BMW drivers have the highest DUI rate by a wide margin. BMW drivers had 3.13 DUIs per 1,000 drivers — nearly twice the rate of DUIs among Ram drivers (1.72), the next-highest ranking auto brand. On the other end, Mitsubishi (0.89), Volvo (0.92), and Mercury and Kia drivers (both 0.93) had the lowest DUI rates. Just nine of the 30 brands analyzed had DUI rates below 1.00 among their drivers.” So, that’s a win, I guess.

Like Tesla, Ram is known for having powerful, quick vehicles — and it had the highest number of speeding incidents. “Rams are known for powerful engines with impressive speed and horsepower. The Ram 1500, featured on J.D. Power’s list of fastest pickup trucks, is particularly notable for its ability to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 7.4 seconds,” LendingTree writes. “Tesla also produces several vehicles known for their performance. Kelley Blue Book’s 2023 list of the 10 fastest electric cars includes four Teslas.”

Returning to the matter of Autopilot and Full Self Driving, Tesla has reported for years that its drivers get in far fewer accidents when using those driver-assist technologies. So, again, I don’t think they were contributors to Tesla’s poor showing here. What seems to be the clear problem is how much Tesla vehicles are driven recklessly because of their reputation for quick, sporty driving. Frankly, I don’t see that problem going away. Perhaps it will be watered down a bit as more mass-market buyers get into Teslas. However, on the other hand, how many Ram drivers will feel compelled to switch to a Tesla Cybertruck? … The Cybertruck is more powerful, quicker, and “tougher.” It was marketed at its recent delivery event as a vehicle that would crush any car it got into an accident with. Suffice to say, I don’t think Tesla has turned a corner and toned down the hype around speed, power, and reckless driving. If anything, the Cybertruck may be teasing that more than any previous Tesla model. …