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Tesla is preparing to expand its insurance business internationally – starting with insurance products in the United Kingdom.

The automaker originally introduced its own insurance product in California, but it didn’t utilize real-time driving data or Tesla’s safety score, which had been the original goal.

Before expanding its insurance product to other markets, Tesla wanted to build up its safety score system, which utilizes driving data collected in real time from Tesla vehicles to determine if you are a “good driver” based on things like the number of “Forward Collision Warnings” you get, the amount of hard braking you do, aggressive turning, unsafe following distance, and if you get forced Autopilot disengagements.

In October 2021, Tesla finally launched its new insurance product based on the safety score in Texas.

The automaker says that it expects those deemed “average” drivers based on their safety score should save 20% to 40% on their premium compared to competitors, and those with the safest scores could save between 30% to 60%.

In a review of some quotes comparing the existing premiums for Tesla drivers, it was hit or miss on whether Tesla’s product was cheaper or not. There seems to be a bigger difference for those who already had a high premium based on age and gender, which Tesla insists it is not using in its own premium calculations, unlike other insurance companies.

Also, when first quoting and starting a policy, Tesla assumes a safety score of 90. The monthly premium price can quickly go down if you improve this score.

Tesla released an example that shows how the premium can change month to month depending on your score:

Month Safety Score
From Trips*
Safety Score
for Rating
Monthly Premium
1 95 90 $121.00
2 88 90 $121.00
3 92 95 $97.00
4 98 88 $130.00
5 96 92 $111.00
6 93 98 $83.00

Since releasing the product, Tesla has integrated everything into its mobile app, from ordering insurance to using the safety score to paying and managing claims.

The company expanded the insurance product to Illinois in December and then to  Arizona and Ohio in January.

In April, Tesla launched insurance based on real-time driver data in Colorado, Oregon, and Virginia.

In June, the automaker expanded the product to Nevada, and in July, we saw Utah and Maryland being added to the list.

The rollout is not happening as fast as Tesla anticipated as CEO Elon Musk stated that he believes Tesla Insurance would be in most states by the end of last year.

But now we learn of Tesla preparing its insurance business expansion internationally – starting with the UK.

The UK’s Insurance Post (via City AM) reports that Tesla started the process, and it is hiring a lawyer to work in its “full-stack in house in insurer” based in its London headquarters.

The UK has rapidly become one of Tesla’s most important markets as new car buyers are increasingly turning to electric vehicles.

Despite a higher sticker price, electric vehicles can result in a much lower cost of ownership, but Tesla has often been subject to higher insurance rates from established companies.

By offering its own product, Tesla hopes to reduce the cost of insurance for its owners and, in turn, reduce the overall cost of ownership.

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BMW hits pause on EV production in the US, but don’t expect prices to rise yet

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BMW hits pause on EV production in the US, but don't expect prices to rise yet

BMW told dealers it plans to freeze EV production in the US in May as it deals with the uncertainty surrounding the new auto tariffs. Despite the pause, BMW said it won’t raise prices on most imported vehicles. At least, for now.

Why is BMW pausing EV production in the US?

After celebrating the assembly of its seven millionth vehicle in the US this week, BMW, like most major automakers, is bracing for a shakeup under the Trump Administration.

According to Automotive News, BMW told its dealers on April 29 that it will “postpone” EV production in the US in May. The note didn’t specify a reason, but it’s more than likely due to Trump’s 25% tariff on vehicle imports.

The luxury automaker has had more success than most of its peers with four electric vehicles: the i4, i5, i7, and iX. However, all four are built in Germany.

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In the first three months of 2025, BMW sold 13,538 EVs, up 26% from Q1 2024. The i4 was BMW’s top seller with sales surging 57% to 7,125, followed by the iX at 3,626. In comparison, Mercedes-Benz sold just 3,472 electric vehicles in the US in the first quarter, down 58% year-over-year (YOY).

BMW-EV-production-US
2025 BMW i4 M50 xDrive (Source: BMW)

Sebastian Mackensen, President & CEO of BMW of North America, said the company “remains in a strong position in the US, where the majority of the vehicles we sell in this market are also assembled.”

BMW also told dealers in the memo that it will not raise prices on most imported vehicles through June. The only exception is the 2 Series and M2 performance coupe.

BMW-EV-production-US
2026 BMW iX xDrive60 (Source: BMW)

The news comes after most major automakers, including GM, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Stellantis, withdrew their financial guidance this week due to the uncertainty caused by Trump’s tariffs.

Earlier today, Ford CEO Jim Farley told CNN, “We’re all trying to figure this out to do the right thing for the country,” adding, “It’s going to take a little time.” In the meantime, expect to see more drastic measures being taken.

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Ford is still offering big discounts including employee pricing and free EV chargers

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Ford is still offering big discounts including employee pricing and free EV chargers

After extending several promotions this week, Ford is offering significant discounts that could save you thousands. In addition to employee pricing on most Ford and Lincoln vehicles, the company is offering a free home charger with the purchase of an EV. Here’s how you can snag some discounts.

Ford launched its “From America, For America” campaign earlier this month, offering employee prices for all on most 2024 and 2025 models.

The promo was initially expected to end on June 2, but CEO Jim Farley told CNN in an interview on Wednesday that the company is extending it through July 4. Although the campaign now runs another month, Farley said he can’t promise prices won’t go up when the offer expires.

As for how much of a discount, it will depend on the vehicle’s cost. Under the employee pricing plan, the 2025 Mustang Mach-E, with an MSRP of $36,495, costs just $34,599. The 2025 F-150 Lightning, with an MSRP of $62,995, is nearly $5,000 off, at just $58,183.

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“We want to keep our prices competitive and low,” Farley explained. Like most automakers, Ford is bracing for the impact of the new auto tariffs in the US.

Ford-employee-prices
2025 Ford Mustang Mach-E (Source: Ford)

Outside of Tesla, Ford builds a greater percentage of vehicles in the US than any other major automaker. According to Farley, “This is an opportunity for Ford.” He explained that Ford has “a different footprint, a different exposure for tariffs.”

Ford imports around 21% of the vehicles it sells in the US. Crosstown rival GM imports around 46%. According to S&P Global Mobility, Ford made around 2 million cars in the US last year. It also built around 391,000 in Mexico and 54,000 in Canada.

Ford-employee-prices
Ford Mustang Mach-E (left) and F-150 Lightning (right) (Source: Ford)

For EV buyers, Ford is also extending its Power Promise program, which offers a free Level 2 home charger (plus standard installation) with the purchase of an F-150 Lightning or Mustang Mach-E.

Other benefits include 24/7 live electric vehicle support, roadside assistance, and an 8-year, 100,000-mile battery warranty. The promo now runs through July 6.

Ready to take advantage of the savings? We can help you get started. You can use our links below to find deals on the Ford F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E at a dealer near you.

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Waymo and Toyota partner to go after Tesla with personal self-driving vehicles

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Waymo and Toyota partner to go after Tesla with personal self-driving vehicles

Waymo and Toyota have announced a partnership aimed at competing with Tesla in the development of personally owned self-driving vehicles.

Waymo is already widely regarded as the market leader in autonomous driving, as it currently provides approximately 250,000 autonomous paid rides per week in the few markets where it operates.

Tesla is playing catch-up as it plans to offer the same service Waymo offers, starting in Austin in June, with 10 to 20 vehicles.

However, there’s an area of autonomous driving where Tesla is still seen as the market leader: personally owned self-driving vehicles.

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While Tesla has yet to deliver on its promise of unsupervised self-driving capability in its consumer vehicles, it uses the same technology in those as it plans to do in its internal fleet in Austin, albeit with more Austin-specific training and some teleoperation assists.

Some see this as an opportunity for Tesla to take the lead in personally owned autonomous vehicles if it can solve self-driving on its current hardware, which is a big if.

It already has smoothly integrated sensors that don’t clash with the designs of its vehicles, which is something that car buyers care about, but it’s not a big deal for an autonomous ride-hailing fleet, which is what Waymo has focused on so far.

Now, Waymo and Toyota have announced that they are exploring collaboration on autonomous vehicles :

Toyota Motor Corporation (“Toyota”) and Waymo reached a preliminary agreement to explore a collaboration focused on accelerating the development and deployment of autonomous driving technologies. Woven by Toyota will also join the potential collaboration as Toyota’s strategic enabler, contributing its strengths in advanced software and mobility innovation. This potential partnership is built on a shared vision of improving road safety and delivering increased mobility for all.

More specifically, the collaboration will focus on “next-generation personally owned vehicles (POVs)”:

Toyota and Waymo aim to combine their respective strengths to develop a new autonomous vehicle platform. In parallel, the companies will explore how to leverage Waymo’s autonomous technology and Toyota’s vehicle expertise to enhance next-generation personally owned vehicles (POVs). The scope of the collaboration will continue to evolve through ongoing discussions.

This would point to Waymo integrating its technology into Toyota’s vehicles for consumers.

While it’s still early, Waymo appears to be doing something Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, claimed Tesla would be doing soon: announcing deals to integrate its ‘Full Self-Driving’ technology in vehicles built by other automakers.

For more than a year, Musk has said that Tesla has been in discussions with other automakers about licensing its self-driving technology, which is still in development; however, no progress has been disclosed about those discussions yet.

Waymo also announced a similar partnership with Hyundai last year, though this one is expected to first focus on Waymo using Hyundai vehicles for its own autonomous ride-hailing fleet.

Electrek’s Take

This is a big deal. The world’s leader in autonomous vehicles is partnering with the world’s largest automaker.

It’s still early in the collaboration, as per the press release, but it does sound like Waymo is going to develop a hardware suite that can be fitted into Toyota’s consumer vehicles.

This would go after Musk’s argument that Waymo can’t compete with Tesla due to the high cost of its autonomous vehicles.

Waymo’s counterargument is that it hasn’t focused on cost because safety is the priority, and the cost of the vehicles doesn’t matter as much if they are to be used in an internal ride-hailing fleet.

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