Tesla is the not-so-little automotive start-up that could. Making purely electric cars since 2008, the California-based company still spends next to nothing on marketing and advertising. Instead Tesla relies mostly on word of mouth from existing owners and excitement from bloggers, YouTube influencers and journalists to sell cars. To this end, the Tesla referral program has been an effective tool in bringing new customers to the brand.
What Benefit Does the Tesla Referral Program Offer?
With the Tesla referral program, any owner of a Tesla vehicle can share a unique code with prospective Tesla buyers. If a buyer uses this code to purchase or lease a Tesla Model 3, Model S or Model X, then both the buyer and the referrer get a reward or bonus. The actual bonus varies over time, but normally the referral bonus is a free credit on Supercharging.
As of publication of this article (May 17, 2019), the bonus is 5,000 miles of free supercharging. This means that if you buy a Tesla online using a referral link or over the phone by providing a unique referral code, you and the person who referred you get a certain amount of free supercharging at Tesla Supercharger station worldwide (currently 5,000 free miles). This offer is scheduled to expire on May 28, 2019, after which the Supercharging credit drops to 1,000 miles of free supercharging. In addition to the Supercharging bonus, those who refer Tesla sales get entered into drawings to win a Tesla Model Y crossover or a new Tesla Roadster (neither of which is on the market just yet).
If you have a friend, family member or acquaintance who owns a Tesla and has influenced you in your decision to buy one, be sure to contact them for their referral link. If you’re looking for a referral link to get a Supercharging bonus on your Tesla purchase, feel free to use mine, so we can both benefit from the referral bonus:
If you order over the phone, use referral code “christopher55570.”
How Do I Find My Referral Code?
Once you own a Tesla vehicle, you’re eligible for the referral program and can begin referring new Tesla sales. If you haven’t received an e-mail from Tesla with your code yet, you can e-mail them at referralprogram@tesla.com. But first check in your Tesla app. As a Tesla owner, your referral code appears in the Tesla app in the “Loot Box.” This is the little treasure chest visible in the top right of the Tesla app. From there you can share your code via e-mail, messaging app or social media. You can also check there to see how many referrals you have and how many miles of supercharging credit are presently in your account.
In late May, 2019, Tesla also restored links to the referral program from within the “My Account” section of the Tesla web site. Current Tesla owners can log into that here to get your referral link and check the status of any of your referrals:
Can I Refer a Sale To Myself?
Tesla has stated in the past that owners are eligible to purchase a new Tesla using their own referral link so we assume this is still valid. I myself did use my own referral link when upgrading from a Model 3 to a Model 3 Performance and did get the referral bonus. So if you’re already a Tesla Owner, you can click on your own link and complete the purchase or lease of a new Tesla in order to get the referral bonuses.
Where Can I Find a Supercharger and How Do I use It?
Tesla’s Supercharger system is a global network of high speed EV chargers that are currently designed for exclusive use by Tesla cars. Every Tesla made – other than the original Tesla Roadster – is capable of using the Tesla Supercharger network. Tesla continues to add more Supercharger stations every month and has even delivered improved charging speeds to owners via a combination of upgrades to the chargers themselves, hardware improvements to the cars as well as software updates delivered over the air to Tesla vehicles. Using a Supercharger, you can get about 60% of your range back in 20-30 minutes. Maybe not as fast as a gas fill-up, but not an excessively long time.
Finding a Supercharger is easy as their locations are all built into every Tesla car’s on-board navigation. If you want to find one nearby while driving your Tesla, just press the right button on your steering wheel to active voice commands and say, “Navigate to Supercharger.” This will present you with a list of the closest Superchargers on the screen. Pick one and the navigation system will take you there. If you plot a long distance trip using Tesla’s on-board navigation, the car will include Supercharger stops along the way automatically, so you’ll never have to worry about running out of juice. You can also find current and planned Supercharger locations here on the Tesla Web site:
How Much is this Supercharger Bonus Really Worth?
The value of free Supercharging varies depending on which Tesla you buy or lease (or already own) and the cost of Supercharging in your area. In most parts of the United States, Tesla charges a flat rate per kWh of charge. The national average cost per kWh for Supercharging is currently $0.28 (28 cents per kWh). So we can estimate the value of this bonus using the published fuel efficiency estimates for each model.
Each Tesla has an EPA estimated efficiency that is included on the Monroney sticker and is published on the EPA’s Fuel Economy web site (www.fueleconomy.gov). As an example, the Tesla Model 3 AWD and AWD Performance are rated at 29 kWH/100 miles. So the average cost of charging a Model 3 Long Range AWD at the national average of 28 cents per kWh is around $8.12 for 100 miles of range. So with the current supercharging bonus of 5,000 miles, the value of this perk is about $406.00. If you own or purchase a Model S or Model X, which aren’t quite as efficient as a Model 3, then the value of this bonus is actually more, because you use more electricity to travel those 5,000 miles. After your referral bonus is depleted, you will need to pay per use for Supercharger access.
Do The Bonus Miles Expire?
According to the current program terms, unused bonus supercharging miles expire after six months. Depending on how often you use Superchargers, you may not use the full credit within six months, in which case, the unused miles will no longer be available in your account. But if you are an owner who refers an additional Tesla purchase, this extends the expiration date by an additional six months. So theoretically, if you can refer at least one new buyer to Tesla every six months, your bonus miles should not expire. This isn’t actually that hard to do. Just take people for a ride in your Tesla, and more often than not, they’ll want one of their own.
Are there Secret Levels to the Referral Program?
In Tesla’s earlier version of the referral program, there was a secret bonus level. For every referral purchase that was made using an owner’s referral code, after the first five referrals, that owner would get a 2% discount toward the purchase of the upcoming new version of the Tesla Roadster. Two percent may not seem like much, but considering the new Roadster will start at $250,000, this little bonus was actually quite substantial. Once the owner reached 55 referrals, they earned a free Roadster.
There are some active bloggers, journalists and YouTube video producers who exceeded this referral cap and will be able to take home a free Roadster once they’re available. But unfortunately, that initial referral program was discontinued, and, according to the Tesla reps with whom we spoke, the current referral program does not include any secret levels. Of course, Tesla could change this at some point, but the “official” Tesla word is that there are no longer any secret referral bonuses.
Where Can I Find Out More?
Tesla maintains a page with details about the referral program at tesla.com/support/referral-program
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