British Insurer Offers Discount For Tesla Inc (TSLA) Autopilot Users

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has arguably the best self-driving system on the road today with its Autopilot feature, which uses an array of sensors and cameras to virtually operate itself during periods of highway driving.

As self-driving systems become more reliable than their human counterparts, car insurers have slowly been stepping up to recognize the increased safety levels. As Quartz notes, the phenomenon has spread to to Great Britain, where one insurance firm is now offering a price cut for using Autopilot:

Now, Britain’s largest auto insurance company Direct Line is testing out the hypothesis by enticing Tesla owners to turn on their Autopilot with a 5% discount, Reuters reports. The company intends to evaluate whether Autopilot will indeed lower accident rates and thereby justify lower premiums. Premiums will still vary based on the driver’s history, but according to a user in the Tesla Motor Club forum, drivers receive the discount once they tell Direct Line they have Autopilot through the insurer’s Tesla-specific channel.

Earlier this year, Ohio-based Root Insurance became the first auto insurer to offer such a discount. The program is now available across nine U.S. states, and uses an app to detect when and how often a driver uses Autosteer, a feature of Autopilot.

According to Tesla, its self-driving features now include matching the car’s speed to traffic conditions, automatically changing lanes to avoid congestion, and pulling out of an owner’s garage when summoned to do so. Full autonomy — where the car can operate 100% on its own without any human driver interaction whatsoever — is still a couple of years away, according to most analysts.

Tesla Inc shares closed at $315.13 on Friday, up $3.89 (+1.25%). Year-to-date, TSLA has gained 47.47%, versus a 20.47% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

TSLA currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of C (Neutral), and is ranked #17 of 24 stocks in the Auto & Vehicle Manufacturers category.

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