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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Quotes provided by The Motley Fool.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk handed Grok something no other AI company can get their hands on
Elon Musk says SpaceX will feed engineering data into Grok’s next model, avoiding restricted material.
Elon Musk said Tuesday that SpaceX will feed its internal engineering data into the next major training run for Grok, the AI model now folded into SpaceX following February’s merger. In a post on X, Musk wrote that SpaceX’s “massive corpus of world-class engineering data,” excluding anything restricted under U.S. arms export law, will be added during supplemental training of what he called the “2T run,” a reference to a roughly two trillion parameter model that would nearly double the parameters behind the latest Grok 4.5 that’s rolling out.
SpaceX’s massive corpus of world-class engineering data (excluding material blocked by ITAR) will be added during supplemental training of the 2T run.
This will dramatically improve Grok’s engineering capabilities. https://t.co/BbQEViFByn
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 21, 2026
The excluded material that Musk is referring to would fall under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), which restricts export of technical data tied to defense and space hardware. That likely rules out propulsion specifics for Merlin and Raptor engines along with guidance and control details for SpaceX’s launch vehicles, but leaves manufacturing knowledge, materials science, and Starlink hardware design on the table.
The announcement extends a pattern that has been building since SpaceX’s Nasdaq debut in June, when the company went public with Grok and xAI’s Colossus supercomputer folded into the pitch to investors.
Days after that listing, SpaceX closed its $60 billion all stock acquisition of coding startup Cursor, giving xAI both enterprise software distribution and a stream of real world developer data to train on. Grok 4.5 launched July 8 running partly on that Cursor training data, with Musk describing it as roughly comparable to Anthropic’s Opus 4.7 but faster and cheaper to run.
Feeding SpaceX’s own engineering data into the next AI model follows the same logic Musk has applied across xAI’s sister companies. Tesla supplies real world driving data and manufacturing expertise, X supplies conversational data, and now SpaceX supplies aerospace engineering data built up since 2002.
Musk did not give a release date for the upcoming AI model, referred to elsewhere as Grok 4.6. He has said the two trillion parameter run is in its final training phase and expected to wrap this week.
Tesla has extended its Bay Area ride-hailing service to include pickups and drop-offs at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The update, shared via the company’s official channels on July 21, allows users in the region to request rides directly to and from one of California’s busiest airports.
The expansion builds on Tesla’s secured limousine permit for SFO operations. Public records show the permit became effective March 20, 2026, and remains active through January 31, 2027. Tesla vehicles operating the service now display authorized limousine permits issued by the City and County of San Francisco.
Our Bay Area rideshare service now goes to SFO ✈️
— Tesla AI (@Tesla_AI) July 21, 2026
Tesla’s ride-hailing program in California relies on Model Y vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving (Supervised) technology. Human safety drivers remain present in compliance with state regulations, distinguishing the service from fully driverless operations.
The Bay Area geofence covers a broad area spanning north of San Francisco to south of San Jose, offering extensive connectivity across the region.
UPDATE: Elon Musk reveals why Tesla didn’t say ‘Robotaxi’ upon California launch
This SFO addition follows earlier progress at other Bay Area airports. Tesla previously expanded service to San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC) in late 2025. The company had engaged with SFO, SJC, and Oakland International Airport officials as early as September 2025 to secure necessary approvals for passenger transport.
The service provides a new option for travelers seeking electric, app-based transportation integrated with Tesla’s ecosystem. Rides are booked through Tesla’s dedicated ride-hailing application, which handles matching, routing, and payments. Pricing follows standard ride-hailing models, with potential adjustments based on distance, time, and demand.
Tesla’s California ride-hailing program launched in July 2025 with an initial invite-only rollout in the Bay Area. It started alongside operations in Austin, Texas, marking the company’s second major U.S. market.
The Bay Area remains a primary focus in California, with service centered on high-demand corridors connecting residential, commercial, and now major transportation hubs. This latest airport integration represents a practical step in Tesla’s broader mobility ambitions within the state.
Tesla has officially revealed its 2026 Summer Update, which comes with a variety of crazy new features, including Navigation fixes that owners have been wanting for months.
Tesla routinely releases a larger update with the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter updates, where it ships a variety of new features, bug fixes, and other additions to customer cars.
The 2026 Spring Update featured things like “Hey Grok” voice assistance, a redesigned self-driving app, Unreal Engine visual upgrades, and more.
🚨 TESLA’S SUMMER UPDATE FOR 2026 IS HERE:
Featuring:
✅ Self-Driving Stats in Mobile App
✅ Caraoke with Scoring
✅ Automatic Navigation
✅ Preferred Routes
✅ Set Arrival Energy from Mobile App
✅ Send Custom Wraps from Mobile App
✅ Rear Display Lock
✅ Other Improvements
🔌… https://t.co/C9IW3egEhH— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 21, 2026
Tesla’s Summer Release has about ten new features; we’ll show you each and detail them below:
New Grok Voice Commands
“Grok can now make phone calls, search and play music, adjust climate, open the glovebox, and answer questions about your Tesla.”
Self-Driving Stats in Mobile App
“View and share self-driving stats from the mobile app.”
Caraoke With Scoring
“Caraoke now scores your singing while in Park. High scores are saved to your Tesla profile.”
Automatic Navigation
“Automatic Navigation now adapts to your routine.
In addition to Home, Work, and upcoming calendar events, your vehicle can now suggest and route to places you visit regularly – like a school drop-off on the way to work, or the gym on the way home.”
Preferred Routes
“For a more personalized experience, navigation now prioritizes routes that you’ve taken before”
Set Arrival Energy from Mobile App
“Set your desired Arrival Energy from your phone.”
Send Custom Wraps from Mobile App
“Skip the USB drive and upload a custom wrap of your car from the mobile app. Instructions for creating a custom wrap here: https://github.com/teslamotors/custom-wraps.”
Rear Display Lock
“Kids can watch content on the rear screen, but only the front row can control it through the rear screen app.”
Other Improvements
- Find Superchargers by name when searching for a destination
- Add Apple Music songs to queue from search and artist page
- Set your preferred zoom level for the Self-Driving visualization
- Intro animations for new Model 3 and Y
Elon Musk handed Grok something no other AI company can get their hands on
Tesla expands ridesharing service in California to new hotspot
