Tesla has made a number of changes to its referral program over the last few days. The changes were different depending on where you live, resulting in either the Model 3 being removed or added back to the referral program, as well as changes to the amount of credits you can earn with a referral.
Tesla launched the upgraded Model 3 in North America this week, a little over 3 months after it was introduced in China, Europe, and other Asia-Pacific markets. When the new Model 3 was launched in those markets, the electric sedan was removed from the referral program as Tesla was expecting a flood of orders and the extra promotion for a brand new product wasn’t necessary.
As with the initial launch last year, Tesla has also removed the Model 3 from the referral program in Canada and the US. This leaves buyers and existing owners only able to get a free trial of Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta and to earn credits on the Model S, Model X, and Model Y.
UPDATE: With the launch, the Model 3 has been removed from the referral program. https://t.co/awt8eGnI8C pic.twitter.com/AMi6WSRzIg
— Drive Tesla 🇨🇦 (@DriveTeslaca) January 10, 2024
Tesla obviously didn’t announce the Model 3’s exclusion from the program, so we don’t know when it will be added back either. However it might not be that long. On Thursday night the Model 3 returned in those markets where the upgraded version went on sale last year (h/t: @richardslopes83). If the same timeline follows in North America, we could see the Model 3 return to the program here in or around April or May.
Interestingly, the benefits are only for the existing owners, who receive 5,000 credits when someone purchases a Model 3 with their referral code, and the buyer gets no added perks.
There has also been one other change, this one to loyalty credits, which are earned when an existing owner purchases another Tesla. This bonus has been increased to 15,000 credits, but this change appears to have only happened in Europe. (h/t: @Niklas_1E)
In case you weren’t following the news yesterday, factory tours have also returned to the referral program.
If you spot any other changes to the referral program in your market, let us know in the comments below.
