Energy
Tesla adds private SpaceX Tour as prize to its latest referral program
Tesla updated details for its latest Referral Program, the eighth since the company first launched the incentive program nearly two years ago. The program, designed to reduce Tesla’s cost of selling cars while passing savings on to customers, has been widely successful because of the $1,000 instant discount to buyers, but also the generous prize list made available to referring Tesla owners. Tesla has previously given away a free Founders Edition Tesla Model X to YouTuber Bjørn Nyland for having the most referrals through the program.
Prizes being offered in the latest Tesla Referral Program largely stayed the same as the most recent program it replaced, with the exception being a new drawing for a private SpaceX tour. According to details outlined in the program, which we’ve provided below, all qualifying referrals will be entered into a drawing for a Ludicrous P100D Model S or Model X, but also a SpaceX Tour. One winner will receive a Tesla vehicle and a private tour for four to see developments taking place behind closed doors at the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. This is the same site where Elon Musk recently hopped into a full-scale Hyperloop concept pod during the competition held outside of SpaceX. And the site where a Model 3 Prototype was spotted testing in the backlot of the rocket company.
Tesla’s newest Referral Program will award existing Model S and Model X owners that make 7+ qualifying referrals with an invitation to the highly anticipated Model 3 delivery event. There’s been no official announcement on when this event will take place but fine print outlined in Tesla’s latest “Loveday Project” rules puts the final “Part 3” Model 3 event at or around June 2, 2017.
Full details of Tesla’s eighth referral program, good between March 16 to June 15, 2017, is outlined in its entirety below.
If you’ve enjoyed visiting our site and seeing our live behind the scenes coverage of events, please consider using our referral code for $1,000 off the purchase of your Model S and Model X. Your support helps us with content production. We’re particularly interested in bringing your the first photos of the Elon Musk-signed Red Powerwall 2.0.
REFERRAL PROGRAM (Mar. 16 TO Jun. 15, 2017)
Customers who order a new Model S or Model X using the referral link of a Tesla owner will get a $1,000 credit towards the purchase price. To show our appreciation, referring owners will be eligible for our Referral Program awards.
Owners can refer up to 9 friends during the current phase of the program, lasting from March 16 to June 15, 2017.
Ludicrous P100D Model S or Model X and Private SpaceX Tours
Each qualified referral customers make gives them an additional entry into our Referral Program drawings:
- Ludicrous P100D Model S or Model X + Private SpaceX Tour: One referrer will win a Ludicrous P100D Model S or Model X as well as a private tour for four of the SpaceX headquarters in Los Angeles, including travel and accommodations. SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. SpaceX headquarters is not open to the public.
- SpaceX Tour: Five referrers will win a tour for four of the SpaceX headquarters in Los Angeles, including travel and accommodations.
7+ Qualifying Referrals
Owners who make 7 qualifying referrals will receive an invitation for themselves and a guest to attend our Model 3 delivery event.
5+ Qualifying Referrals
Those who make 5 or more qualifying referrals will receive an exclusive red Founders Series Powerwall 2. This limited edition Powerwall is not available to the public.
3+ Qualifying Referrals
Those who make 3 qualifying referrals will receive a Founders Series Tesla Model S for Kids. This miniature driveable electric Model S includes working headlights, sound system, and charge port.
2+ Qualifying Referrals
Those who make 2 or more referrals will receive a rolling Tesla carry-on.
1+ Qualifying Referrals
Everyone who makes a qualifying referral will receive a pass for 4 to tour the Tesla Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada.
Annual Awards
Owners will now also receive exclusive benefits and awards throughout the year, based on their total number of referrals from January 16, 2017.
First to 20 Per Region – Ludicrous P100D Model S or Model X
The first person to refer 20 friends starting from January 16 in each sales region— North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific — will receive a P100D Model S or Model X. They will be invited to configure their award once all 20 friends have taken delivery of their new Tesla vehicles.
20+ Qualifying Referrals
Those who make 20 qualifying referrals will receive a weekend getaway at a destination charging resort as well as the ability to swap their car with the latest Tesla of their choice for a week.
15+ Qualifying Referrals
Those who make 15 qualifying referrals will receive exclusive priority access and benefits lasting until December 31, 2018, including:
VIP Concierge – 24/7 access via phone for assistance with all ownership matters
VIP access to Tesla events
10 overnight test drive passes for friends and family
10 passes for 4 to tour Tesla’s Fremont Factory
We know that without our customers we would not be where we are today. This is our way of thanking you for your support in building the Tesla community and accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy.
Limits
Related order must be placed between March 16, 2017 and June 15, 2017 to qualify for current phase awards, and after January 16, 2017 to qualify for annual awards. Referrals must be delivered before awards are redeemed. Pre-owned vehicles are not eligible. Limit of 9 referrals per owner until June 15, 2017.
Must be at least 18 years old to be eligible for awards. No entry fee, payment or purchase required for the drawing. A random drawing will be held on or around June 30, 2017 to determine the winner. The winner will be contacted thereafter. Awards are non-transferable and not redeemable for cash. The customer is responsible for all taxes and local requirements and fees. Customers are responsible for their own travel and accommodations unless otherwise specified. SpaceX and Tesla tours are subject to the visitor meeting facility entrance eligibility criteria. Program and awards are conditional on and subject to local laws and regulations. Unfortunately, Ohio and Virginia residents are not eligible for awards.
The customer is not an employee, legal representative or partner of Tesla or any Affiliate of Tesla. Nothing in the Referral Program shall be deemed to create any kind of (commercial) relationship between Supplier and Tesla or any of Tesla’s Affiliates. The customer has no authority to represent or bind Tesla.
Good Faith
We introduce programs such as these in good faith and expect the same good faith in return. Please note that we may withhold awards where we believe customers are acting in bad faith or otherwise acting contrary to the intent of this program. To be clear, commercializing or otherwise selling referral codes is not appropriate, and we will not honor such codes. We cannot cover every nefarious scenario, nor will we attempt to, but we do promise to be fair and reasonable.
Tesla is updating Cybertruck owners on its timeline of a massive feature that has yet to ship: Powershare with Powerwall.
Powershare is a bidirectional charging feature exclusive to Cybertruck, which allows the vehicle’s battery to act as a portable power source for homes, appliances, tools, other EVs, and more. It was announced in late 2023 as part of Tesla’s push into vehicle-to-everything energy sharing, and acting as a giant portable charger is the main advantage, as it can provide backup power during outages.
Cybertruck’s Powershare system supports both vehicle-to-load (V2L) and vehicle-to-home (V2H), making it flexible and well-rounded for a variety of applications.
However, even though the feature was promised with Cybertruck, it has yet to be shipped to vehicles. Tesla communicated with owners through email recently regarding Powershare with Powerwall, which essentially has the pickup act as an extended battery.
Powerwall discharge would be prioritized before tapping into the truck’s larger pack.
However, Tesla is still working on getting the feature out to owners, an email said:
“We’re writing to let you know that the Powershare with Powerwall feature is still in development and is now scheduled for release in mid-2026.
This new release date gives us additional time to design and test this feature, ensuring its ability to communicate and optimize energy sharing between your vehicle and many configurations and generations of Powerwall. We are also using this time to develop additional Powershare features that will help us continue to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
Owners have expressed some real disappointment in Tesla’s continuous delays in releasing the feature, as it was expected to be released by late 2024, but now has been pushed back several times to mid-2026, according to the email.
Foundation Series Cybertruck buyers paid extra, expecting the feature to be rolled out with their vehicle upon pickup.
Cybertruck’s Lead Engineer, Wes Morrill, even commented on the holdup:
As a Cybertruck owner who also has Powerwall, I empathize with the disappointed comments.
To their credit, the team has delivered powershare functionality to Cybertruck customers who otherwise have no backup with development of the powershare gateway. As well as those with solar…
— Wes (@wmorrill3) December 12, 2025
He said that “it turned out to be much harder than anticipated to make powershare work seamlessly with existing Powerwalls through existing wall connectors. Two grid-forming devices need to negotiate who will form and who will follow, depending on the state of charge of each, and they need to do this without a network and through multiple generations of hardware, and test and validate this process through rigorous certifications to ensure grid safety.”
It’s nice to see the transparency, but it is justified for some Cybertruck owners to feel like they’ve been bait-and-switched.
Energy
Tesla starts hiring efforts for Texas Megafactory
Tesla’s Brookshire site is expected to produce 10,000 Megapacks annually, equal to 40 gigawatt hours of energy storage.
Tesla has officially begun hiring for its new $200 million Megafactory in Brookshire, Texas, a manufacturing hub expected to employ 1,500 people by 2028. The facility, which will build Tesla’s grid-scale Megapack batteries, is part of the company’s growing energy storage footprint.
Tesla’s hiring efforts for the Texas Megafactory are hinted at by the job openings currently active on the company’s Careers website.
Tesla’s Texas Megafactory
Tesla’s Brookshire site is expected to produce 10,000 Megapacks annually, equal to 40 gigawatt hours of energy storage, similar to the Lathrop Megafactory in California. Tesla’s Careers website currently lists over 30 job openings for the site, from engineers, welders, and project managers. Each of the openings is listed for Brookshire, Texas.
The company has leased two buildings in Empire West Business Park, with over $194 million in combined property and equipment investment. Tesla’s agreement with Waller County includes a 60% property tax abatement, contingent on meeting employment benchmarks: 375 jobs by 2026, 750 by 2027, and 1,500 by 2028, as noted in a report from the Houston Business Journal. Tesla is required to employ at least 1,500 workers in the facility through the rest of the 10-year abatement period.
Tesla’s clean energy boom
City officials have stated that Tesla’s arrival marks a turning point for the Texas city, as it highlights a shift from logistics to advanced clean energy manufacturing. Ramiro Bautista from Brookshire’s economic development office, highlighted this in a comment to the Journal.
“(Tesla) has great-paying jobs. Not just that, but the advanced manufacturing (and) clean energy is coming to the area,” he said. “So it’s not just your normal logistics manufacturing. This is advanced manufacturing coming to this area, and this brings a different type of job and investment into the local economy.”
Energy
Tesla and Samsung SDI in talks over new US battery storage deal: report
The update was related by industry sources and initially reported by South Korean news outlets.
Recent reports have suggested that Tesla and Samsung SDI are in talks over a potential partnership to supply batteries for large-scale energy storage systems (ESS).
The update was related by industry sources and initially reported by South Korean news outlets.
ESS batteries to be built at Samsung’s Indiana plant
As noted in a report from Korea JoongAng Daily, the demand for energy storage systems has been growing rapidly in North America, thanks in no small part to the surge in AI investments across numerous companies. With this in mind, Tesla has reportedly approached Samsung SDI about a potential battery supply deal.
The deal is reportedly worth over 3 trillion Korean won (approximately $2.11 billion) and will span three years, according to The Korea Global Economic Daily. A battery supply deal with Samsung SDI could make sense for Tesla as the company already has a grid-scale battery, the Megapack, which is perfect for industrial use. Samsung SDI could simply supply cells for the EV maker.
Production of the batteries would reportedly take place at Samsung SDI’s joint venture factory with Stellantis in Indiana, which is currently under construction. Samsung SDI recently announced plans to use part of that plant’s EV lines to produce cells for ESS, with a targeted capacity of 30 GWh by the end of next year.
Tesla and Samsung’s partnership
At present, only a handful of manufacturers, including Korea’s LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, SK On, and Japan’s Panasonic, are capable of producing energy storage-scale batteries domestically in the United States. A Samsung SDI official issued a comment about the matter, stating, “Nothing has been finalized regarding cooperation with Tesla.”
The possible energy storage system deal adds another layer to Tesla’s growing collaboration with Samsung, which is already in line as a partner in the upcoming production of Tesla’s AI5 and AI6 chips. Early sample manufacturing of the AI6 is expected to begin in South Korea, with mass production slated for Samsung’s Texas-based Taylor foundry when it starts operations.
The AI6 chip will power Tesla’s next wave of high-volume projects, including the Optimus humanoid robot and the autonomous Cybercab service. Musk has called the partnership with Samsung a “real collaboration,” adding that he personally plans to “walk the line” at the Taylor facility to speed up progress.
Tesla updates Cybertruck owners about key Powershare feature
Tesla’s northernmost Supercharger in North America opens
