USAA (my carrier) was the first to deny coverage (and if you know USAA, that’s a big deal) which is what sparked this experiment.
For the record, I have a perfect driving record (not because I’m awesome, but because I drive infrequently these days)
it is real but it's not any form of protest, these things are just so unreliable and incredibly expensive to repair that the actuaries say it's not worth it (see also hurricane coverage in Florida and fire coverage in CA)
As a previous claims adjuster I can confirm it's due to how expensive and how customers always want OEM parts, even when not needed for the repair. Good on them!
I don’t think you can get aftermarket for Teslas. They build them with like three casted parts so you can’t just replace a quarter panel of fender. Insurers were totaling cars with less than 10,000 miles that would be repairable on other cars but too expensive with Tesla. Elon even started his /2
You can make an aftermarket variation of any car parts, but you're right when it comes to Tesla using that tactic. A windshield replacement is easily $1800+. Most high-end automakers also deliberately manufacture parts that are "married" to the vehicle so they're the only ones that can repair it.
The aftermarket part prices are also nearly just as expensive as the OEM parts too (ex. aftermarket Tesla windshield is almost $1600), which can even be more expensive than their 6 mo policy premiums so there's no real incentives or profit for insurance companies to even insure them in some states.
Comments
For the record, I have a perfect driving record (not because I’m awesome, but because I drive infrequently these days)