2025-03-10T12:46:01Z Read in app Tesla Hong Kong This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? I'm not a car person and could drive whatever, but my husband loves cars.After doing tons of research, he decided we needed a Tesla Model Y.Insuring it is very expensive, so we are selling it and looking for a hybrid.Admittedly, I've never been a car person. If it was up to me, I'd still be driving the 1979 Monte Carlo I learned to drive in. That behemoth had a red-faded-to-pink interior, and I could easily cram all my friends and our cheerleading gear into the back.But alas, I married a car guy. If he sees a car's headlights or taillights from a block away, he can name the make, model, and current value on the Kelley Blue Book.He'd been dreaming of a Tesla for years since he took a road trip in a friend's Model S. "It's so fast and sleek. And there's so much storage because there's no engine," he crooned. As Teslas became more popular, it became like our family's version of the Slug Bug game. "There's a Tesla!" our sons would cry from the back of our Nissan Pathfinder.We bought a Model YAs more electric vehicles entered the market, we decided to join the club. So, my husband did what he does best research. After considering Rivians and Polestars, he landed on the Tesla Model Y.It had a decent range and a great charging infrastructure. Most of our driving was done inside the city, but we did take occasional road trips to visit family in Iowa or up north for a family vacation. It also had the needed storage capacity for our family of four, our dog, and luggage for a week away. When we took our first test drive, I also fell in love with the Model Y.I learned to love itLearning to drive the Tesla came with a learning curve. On our first longer road trip, my husband and I experienced a tense 30 miles because we didn't stop to charge when the car told us to. We did the math and figured we could make it to our destination. We did make it after we turned off the air conditioning and radio and slowed to 40 miles per hour on the interstate to save battery. Luckily, our marriage survived. Needless to say, we always stopped to charge after that.It also took some practice with one-pedal driving, but I soon loved it. I also enjoyed the acceleration in my Model Y, resulting in my first speeding ticket since 1999. I'm sure the bright red color made me an easy target.While it was sometimes annoying to stop for a charge on a road trip, we got used to the slight inconvenience and used the time to go for a short walk, peruse strange convenience store wares, and play silly car games.Soon we discovered a major drawbackWhen we saw the final insurance quote, we thought there had to be a mistake. But no it really was going to cost almost as much as our monthly grocery bill.We knew our insurance premiums would be high because we have two young adult son drivers, but we had no idea adding a Tesla would be sell-a-kidney expensive.Electric cars generally cost more to insure than gas vehicles, and Teslas have some of the highest premiums. With our current policy, the Tesla costs over $333 a month, while our gas-powered Audi costs half that.We've since learned that Teslas are outrageously expensive to insure because they're costly to repair, and the company corners the market on parts. Because the repair process can take a long time, insurance companies are stuck footing the bill for longer-term rentals. We also learned that because Teslas drive so incredibly fast, their insurance risk rating is just below that of a performance vehicle.Of course, we've also had several conversations about theMusk controversy, but at the end of the day, our pocketbook and family needs dictate the decision to sell our Tesla this spring.Now we're shopping for a plug-in hybridThese are all factors we had no idea we should consider before we made our purchase, but they are definitely on my husband's new list as he researches our next vehicle. Now we're in the market for a plug-in hybrid, as they are a fraction of the price to insure and offer many of the same environmental and cost benefits we enjoyed with our Tesla especially since most of our driving is within a few miles of our city home.I'm still not a car person. So while my husband dives into research on plug-in hybrids, I'll be here, hoping our next car is just as easy to drive, cheap to insure, and if I'm really lucky comes in a color that doesn't result in a speeding ticket. I may never get my Monte Carlo back, but at least I'll be driving something that won't require us to take out a second mortgage just for insurance.