Tesla owners in British Columbia are currently not eligible to take part in the referral program and earn rewards when someone purchases a car with their referral link. However, we believe they actually are, and all Tesla has to do is make a small change to the program’s code.
Whenever Tesla’s referral program pops up in our news coverage, most recently when it was revamped and relaunched in August, we get flooded with questions on whether BC residents are eligible, and why BC is the only Canadian province excluded. This is actually a longstanding exclusion in the terms and conditions of the program, and is in place because of the province’s Motor Dealer Act, which stipulates that an individual is not allowed to earn an award or commission for referring someone to buy a car unless they are a registered or licensed salesperson.
Referred to as “bird dogging fees,” the Vehicle Sales Authority (VSA), an independent regulatory body that oversees the retail sales of motor vehicles in BC, says this rule was put in place “to protect the consumer,” but it clearly does not reflect the nature of Tesla’s referral program.
Since it can take years, and some political will, to change legislation, I decided to take a closer look to see if there was a way for Tesla to allow owners to earn referral rewards, while still adhering to the current rules and regulations. The good news is that I believe there is a way, but it comes with a small restriction that I think all Tesla owners in BC will happily accept if it means the opportunity to participate in the referral program.
In general, legislation passed by the provincial government applies only within the province’s geographic boundaries. Anything that happens outside of BC, provincial legislation does not apply. In the case of Tesla’s referral program, this means the law does not apply to a referral that results in a vehicle sale outside of BC, since the transaction occurred in a place where BC legislation has no authority.
We reached out to the VSA, and they confirmed this, telling us there is no law that specifically prohibits a BC resident from earning rewards for referring someone to purchase a car in another province (and by extension, another country). Here is exactly what they told us:
“In British Columbia, there is no law specifically addressing or prohibiting the act of referring individuals to motor vehicle dealerships in other provinces.” (emphasis by VSA)
What this means is that Tesla can allow BC residents to earn referral awards while still adhering to the laws of the province. All Tesla has to do is change the program’s code behind the scenes to allow the referral if the purchaser lives outside of BC, or Canada. Or in other words, not allow the referral if it is made to someone that lives in BC.
As mentioned above, it can take years to change legislation. Others have attempted to contact their local MLA to affect change, and others have launched petitions, but without the political will to make it happen, those attempts have gone nowhere.
We are hopeful that Tesla is reading this and will make this relatively easy change to allow BC residents to finally earn referral rewards. After all, BC is a leader in electric vehicle (EV) adoption in Canada. The province was the first jurisdiction in the world to legislate a 100 percent zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) sales target, which has since been pushed ahead and now targets all new vehicles sold by 2035 to be zero-emission. With the implementation of the referral program in BC, Tesla’s continued success would help meet that target and accelerate the province’s transition to sustainable energy.
If you support this change to allow Tesla owners in BC to participate in the referral program, please help out by tagging Tesla (@Tesla), Tesla North America (@tesla_na), and Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on X and pointing them to this article.
