Tesla owners offered cheaper insurance for using Full Self-Driving

Insurance company Zurich will treat a Tesla owner’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) subscription as a risk-rating factor when calculating premiums for the Model Y and Model 3, saying the technology’s claimed reduction in collision risk could result in cheaper cover.

It’s the first time FSD-linked insurance pricing has been offered outside the United States, where Tesla Insurance and insurer Lemonade already factor use of the technology into policy costs.

“This is a really exciting milestone, both for Tesla owners who are rapidly adopting this FSD (Supervised) technology, and for Zurich as the first insurer in Australia to actively lean into this space,” said Zurich product manager David Toma in a statement.

“The data shows that drivers using this technology are involved in far fewer accidents, so it’s important they can access insurance that reflects this lower risk.”

Through Zurich’s InsureMyTesla product, Tesla owners can declare an active FSD (Supervised) subscription when seeking a quote, which could result in a lower premium.

The insurer didn't specify the potential savings, telling CarExpert there were too many variables involved, but said customers could receive “a more affordable cost due to the reduced risk associated with supervised self-driving”.

Social media posts from Tesla owners, including X user @ryanjaycowan, have suggested savings of around $150 for some customers, although others have reported differences of as little as $7 between quotes with and without FSD (Supervised).

Zurich cited Tesla’s claim that vehicles using the technology experience “seven times fewer major or minor collisions compared with regular EVs” as justification for the change.

Tesla’s North American assessment found vehicles travelled an average of 9.16 million kilometres between ‘major’ collisions when FSD (Supervised) was engaged. The dataset covered around 11.5 billion kilometres of FSD driving and recorded 1255 major collisions.

The automaker classifies a collision as ‘major’ when an airbag or another non-reversible pyrotechnic restraint, such as a seatbelt pretensioner, is deployed.

A ‘minor’ collision is one in which those restraints aren't deployed, but the vehicle experiences a change in velocity of at least 8km/h within 150 milliseconds.

Tesla counts FSD (Supervised) as being involved if it was active at any point during the five seconds before a collision, even if the system disengaged or the driver took control before the impact.

FSD (Supervised) was launched in Australia in September 2025 for compatible Model Y SUVs and Model 3 sedans fitted with Hardware 4.

The Model Y was Australia’s top-selling new vehicle in August 2026, having also topped the sales charts in both May and June.

According to Tesla, Australian and New Zealand owners logged more than one million kilometres using FSD (Supervised) within two weeks of its release. Australian customers have since covered more than 132 million kilometres with the system engaged.

Independent safety authority ANCAP hasn't separately assessed FSD (Supervised), although its testing protocols introduced for 2026 place greater emphasis on advanced driver assistance systems and driver monitoring.

The Model Y, including the recently introduced three-row Model Y L, and the Model 3 carry five-star ANCAP safety ratings, irrespective of whether their owners subscribe to FSD (Supervised).

Only Australian vehicles fitted with Tesla’s Hardware 4 – now called AI4 – have been able to use FSD (Supervised) since its local introduction.

However, Tesla has confirmed it's developing an Australian version of its FSD v14 Lite software for older vehicles fitted with Hardware 3, including many pre-facelift Model 3 and Model Y examples. It has not announced a local release date.

“We’re currently rolling out FSD (Supervised) v14 Lite to users in North America and South Korea, with active development underway for Australia and New Zealand,” Tesla said in an email sent to owner @sam_mz20 and subsequently shared on social media channel X.

“This represents meaningful progress toward bringing the FSD (Supervised) feature to Hardware 3 vehicles; something we remain committed and dedicated to delivering.”

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