Tesla could relaunch its defunct Referral Program, which promised free Supercharging miles and free Roadsters to owners who encouraged others to buy company products. According to coding found in the mobile app update, Tesla could bring the program back, but for what reason?
Tesla formerly operated a Referral Program that gave product owners a code to share with friends, family and others. The more the code was used, the more rewards that owner would gain. It was especially good for those who had a strong presence on social media, as it basically eliminated the need to ever pay for Supercharging.
However, the Referral Program offered more astronomical prizes, like free 202? next-gen Roadsters, races in the Tesla Semi, and driving the Boring Company machine. This program was ultimately eliminated by Tesla in September 2021, for vehicles at least. Tesla still maintains a Referral Program for Solar Roof or Solar Panel purchases.
“Friends and family who order through your referral link can earn $300 for Solar Roof or Solar Panels upon permission to operate, while also reducing reliance on the grid and producing clean solar energy. You will earn $300 for each Solar Roof or Solar Panels referral,” the company’s website says. The reward was previously $500.
TeslaScope recognized new coding in the Tesla mobile app, which indicated the Referral Program might be on its way back:
Tesla’s referral program might be making a comeback very, very soon!
The latest mobile app update has some new text strings referring to redeeming referrals for Supercharging miles and even official merchandise and vehicle accessories.
— Teslascope (@teslascope) October 19, 2022
The initial program was perhaps stopped due to excessive demand. The Referral Program absolutely helped Tesla accelerate its sales and transition more households to sustainable energy, but it got to the point that the automaker may have been sacrificing additional revenue streams due to the incredible success of the referrals. The tasty incentives that eliminated Supercharging payments, letting people drive for free, along with some owners grasping the more lofty prizes, may have been more than Tesla could handle at the time.
Now, there are questions surrounding Tesla’s demand after a miss on quarterly deliveries in Q3, and a decrease in overall deliveries in Q2 from Q1. The Q3 miss was Tesla’s second consecutive delivery miss. The company had not previously missed a delivery target since coming up short of 2020 Full Year expectations, where it came just shy of its 500,000 vehicle goal.
Additionally, the decrease in deliveries from Q2 to Q1 is slightly misleading. Although Tesla’s deliveries were lower in Q2 than in Q1, ending a two-year-long streak, the company was upgrading production lines in Shanghai to increase manufacturing capacity.
Speculation begins to rise that Tesla is considering the Referral Program once again to help supplement demand, which could, in reality, be slowing down due to more competition. This is almost laughable considering Tesla held over 60 percent of the United States EV market share in Q3. However, CEO Elon Musk solidified during the Q3 2022 Earnings Call on Thursday that Tesla’s is not experiencing any issues with demand.
“Let’s see with respect to demand. We’ve got a lot of questions about demand in recent weeks,” Musk said. “I can’t emphasize enough, we have excellent demand for Q4, and we expect to sell every car that we make for as far in the future as we can see.”
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Elon Musk
Tesla looks to expand Robotaxi geofence once again with testing in new area
It looks as if Tesla is preparing for its next expansion of the geofence, potentially moving toward a much larger service area that could eclipse 150 square miles.
Tesla looks to be preparing for the potential expansion of the Robotaxi geofence once again, as the company was spotted testing the suite in an area well outside of the Austin service area.
After it first launched the Robotaxi platform on June 22, Tesla has managed to expand its geofence twice, essentially doubling the travel area both times.
The most recent expansion took the size of the geofence from 42 square miles to about 80 square miles, bringing new neighborhoods and regions of the city into the realm of where the driverless vehicles could take passengers.
However, it looks as if Tesla is preparing for its next expansion of the geofence, potentially moving toward a much larger service area that could eclipse 150 square miles.
Over the weekend, one fan noticed a Robotaxi validation vehicle testing in Bee Cave, Texas, which is roughly 25 minutes from the edge of the current geofence:
Tesla spotted doing Robotaxi validation testing in Bee Cave, Texas, about 15 miles west of Austin (20-25 minute drive from current edge of geofence). pic.twitter.com/JCOcoys8SJ
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 23, 2025
Tesla has been testing vehicles in the western suburbs of Austin for some time, and it seems the company is laying some groundwork to push its geofence expansion into Plaid Mode as competition with Waymo continues to be at the forefront of the conversation.
Waymo has been expanding with Tesla for some time, as the pace of expansion for the two companies has been relatively accelerated for the past couple of months.
Tesla’s expansions of the geofence sent a clear message to competitors and doubters, but it is still aiming to keep things safe and not push the envelope too quickly.
The geofence expansion is impressive, but Tesla is also focusing on expanding its vehicle fleet in both Austin and the Bay Area, where it launched a ride-hailing service in July.
Tesla Bay Area autonomous fleet to grow to over 100 units: Elon Musk
Still, safety is the priority at the current time.
“We are being very cautious. We do not want to take any chances, so we are going to go cautiously. But the service areas and the number of vehicles in operation will increase at a hyper-exponential rate,” CEO Elon Musk said during the Q2 Earnings Call.
News
Tesla considers making a big move with Model Y pricing as demand is skyrocketing
“Trending toward a need to expedite output even further, which could mean adjusting pricing upward in the coming days. Trying hard not to, will see.”
Tesla is considering making a big move with Model Y pricing as demand is skyrocketing due to the EV tax credit expiring in just over a month.
With the $7,500 EV tax credit set to be removed on September 30, Tesla is experiencing increased demand for its Model 3 and Model Y. Customers are doing whatever they can to take delivery of the car they ordered as soon as possible.
The IRS recently adjusted the EV tax credit’s rules slightly.
Previously, the vehicle had to be delivered by September 30, but a slight tweak the agency made last week will now allow customers to enter a legally binding contract along with a marginal down payment by that date. The delivery can occur after September 30, and the car can still qualify for the credit.
However, demand is getting so crazy for the Model Y that Tesla is considering a price increase on the all-electric crossover, as well as a potential boost in production output to keep up with orders.
Inventory is dwindling in several markets across the United States, a good sign for the company, as it could have one of its best quarters in recent history in terms of deliveries.
However, Tesla is thinking of bumping the price slightly, Raj Jegannathan, the company’s VP of IT, AI Infrastructure, Apps, Infosec, and Vehicle Service Operations, said on X:
Trending toward a need to expedite output even further, which could mean adjusting pricing upward in the coming days. Trying hard not to, will see.
— Raj Jegannathan (@r_jegaa) August 25, 2025
The price adjustment would come as a response to increasing production output, Jegannathan’s response seems to indicate.
The bump would help Tesla’s margins, but the idea that the company could adjust pricing by increasing it would not be popular with potential car buyers. It might encourage some buyers to put their orders in sooner, hoping to avoid a new, higher price.
However, it could also steer some buyers away from putting an order in on a vehicle, especially if the price increase is more than a few hundred dollars.
Tesla boosted the price of the Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck recently, but brought in a “Luxe Package” to help justify it.
It comes with Free Full Self-Driving, Free lifetime Supercharging, four years of premium service, and lifetime Premium Connectivity.
Tesla has produced its 100,000th new Model Y at Gigafactory Berlin. The milestone was announced by the electric vehicle maker through its official Tesla Manufacturing account on social media platform X.
New Tesla Model Y milestone
The milestone was announced by Tesla on X, when the company wrote “Today, we built the 100,000th New Model Y at Giga Berlin!” The announcement was accompanied by an image of a new Model Y coming off the line.
The milestone was received warmly by members of the Tesla community, many of whom expressed excitement at the further progress of the new Model Y program at Giga Berlin. The facility, after all, only produces Model Y units, which would make it the perfect site to produce new variants like the Model Y Performance and possibly even the Model Y L, which was recently launched in China.
New Model Y ramp
As noted in a previous report from electrive, the initial production of the new Model Y started in Giga Berlin around mid-January 2025. Since the new Model Y involved a changeover from the legacy Y to the new variant, the ramp of the new Model Y’s production at the Germany-based facility was likely a gradual process over the past months.
It would then be no surprise if the next 100,000 new Model Y units would be produced in Giga Berlin in a shorter period. Giga Berlin could become an even bigger factor in Tesla’s global sales, after all, especially if it becomes the site that produces the Model Y Performance and the Model Y L for Europe and other territories. Giga Berlin, if any, seems to be quite busy recently, with aerial videos of the facility showing a fleet of mysteriously covered Model Y units being stored within the complex.
Tesla looks to expand Robotaxi geofence once again with testing in new area
Tesla considers making a big move with Model Y pricing as demand is skyrocketing
Tesla produces 100,000th new Model Y in Giga Berlin
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