Tesla’s current Referral Program offers a variety of incentives for owners who wish to share the Tesla experience with their network of friends and acquaintances. Among these prizes is a free Model Y that’s granted quarterly to a lucky Tesla owner. But inasmuch as the program has been ongoing for some time now, accounts of Model Y raffle winners have been very rare.
Back in March, reports emerged that the first Tesla Model Y Referral Program winner has been drawn, and the lucky owner was from Taiwan. During the brief discussions of the raffle online, it was revealed that the Taiwan-based Tesla owner only had two referrals, which makes the win even more remarkable. And as it turned out, it appears that the next free Model Y winner will follow the same trend.
Tesla Model 3 owner-enthusiast Tesla Raj recently featured one of the recent winners of the electric car maker’s free Model Y raffle on his YouTube channel. The owners, Teresa and Mark, provided some interesting insights about what exactly happens when one wins a free Tesla Model Y. Needless to say, the experience was something truly noteworthy.
According to Mark, he and his wife had bought a Tesla Model 3 after their 13-year-old Hyundai Veracruz needed to be replaced. Being retired himself and having worked on software and hardware, Mark knew that cars were becoming more and more connected. Thus, the decision to purchase a Model 3 was made, since it was a vehicle that would likely last the couple for some time. Interestingly enough, this was not to be the case.
Mark and Teresa were casual Tesla owners, though they did get one referral credited to their account. And as luck would have it, they eventually received an email from the electric car maker informing them that they had won a free Model Y. Mark admitted that he was initially skeptical of the email, especially considering the prevalence of online scams today. Teresa was just as skeptical, though both decided to respond to the email just the same.
Needless to say, the email that the couple received was not a scam. It was real, and a free Model Y was indeed coming to the couple. Teresa and Mark exchanged calls and emails with Tesla, with a representative from the company asking the couple to sign some forms online. As indicated by the Tesla representative that reached out to the couple, the company would create a reservation number for the free Model Y on the back end so Teresa and Mark could avoid the $100 deposit. Interestingly enough, the couple was not asked to configure their free Model Y.
As noted by Mark in a conversation with the Tesla Raj host, Tesla pretty much threw every option available in the free all-electric crossover, such as the Full Self-Driving suite and the Performance Package. The company even gave the couple a Midnight Silver Model Y, which was the same color as their Model 3. That being said, Tesla sent over a Model Y with black interior to the couple, which is different from the white interior Teresa and Mark ordered for their Model 3. The delivery process of the free Model Y was seamless and touchless, and after some inspections of the vehicle, the couple received their free Model Y.
Mark and Teresa’s experience shows that Tesla’s Referral Program is definitely ongoing, and free vehicles are indeed making their way to lucky owners. That being said, those who end up winning free Model Ys in the future should expect to pay about $401.00 in their Tesla account online to cover various fees, so the crossover is not completely free. As noted by Mark, though, such an amount is minuscule considering the cost of the free vehicle. The couple’s experience also highlighted the insane demand for the company’s vehicles, as the Model 3 that the free Model Y replaced found a buyer just a day after it was posted for sale.
Watch Tesla Raj’s feature on the free Model Y winners in the video below.
Elon Musk
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has ordered the closure of an investigation involving Elon Musk and social media platform X. The inquiry had been pending for about two years and examined whether the platform was used to coordinate attacks against members of the judiciary.
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
According to a report from Agencia Brasil, the investigation conducted by the Federal Police did not find evidence that X deliberately attempted to attack the judiciary or circumvent court orders.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet concluded that the irregularities identified during the probe did not indicate fraudulent intent.
Justice Moraes accepted the prosecutor’s recommendation and ruled that the investigation should be closed. Under the ruling, the case will remain closed unless new evidence emerges.
The inquiry stemmed from concerns that content on X may have enabled online attacks against Supreme Court justices or violated rulings requiring the suspension of certain accounts under investigation.
Justice Moraes had previously taken several enforcement actions related to the platform during the broader dispute involving social media regulation in Brazil.
These included ordering a nationwide block of the platform, freezing Starlink accounts, and imposing fines on X totaling about $5.2 million. Authorities also froze financial assets linked to X and SpaceX through Starlink to collect unpaid penalties and seized roughly $3.3 million from the companies’ accounts.
Moraes also imposed daily fines of up to R$5 million, about $920,000, for alleged evasion of the X ban and established penalties of R$50,000 per day for VPN users who attempted to bypass the restriction.
Brazil remains an important market for X, with roughly 17 million users, making it one of the platform’s larger user bases globally.
The country is also a major market for Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, which has surpassed one million subscribers in Brazil.
Elon Musk
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr criticized Amazon after the company opposed SpaceX’s proposal to launch a large satellite constellation that could function as an orbital data center network.
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
Amazon recently urged the FCC to reject SpaceX’s application to deploy a constellation of up to 1 million low Earth orbit satellites that could serve as artificial intelligence data centers in space.
The company described the proposal as a “lofty ambition rather than a real plan,” arguing that SpaceX had not provided sufficient details about how the system would operate.
Carr responded by pointing to Amazon’s own satellite deployment progress.
“Amazon should focus on the fact that it will fall roughly 1,000 satellites short of meeting its upcoming deployment milestone, rather than spending their time and resources filing petitions against companies that are putting thousands of satellites in orbit,” Carr wrote on X.
Amazon has declined to comment on the statement.
Amazon has been working to deploy its Project Kuiper satellite network, which is intended to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink service. The company has invested more than $10 billion in the program and has launched more than 200 satellites since April of last year.
Amazon has also asked the FCC for a 24-month extension, until July 2028, to meet a requirement to deploy roughly 1,600 satellites by July 2026, as noted in a CNBC report.
SpaceX’s Starlink network currently has nearly 10,000 satellites in orbit and serves roughly 10 million customers. The FCC has also authorized SpaceX to deploy 7,500 additional satellites as the company continues expanding its global satellite internet network.
Energy
Tesla Energy gains UK license to sell electricity to homes and businesses
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
Tesla Energy has received a license to supply electricity in the United Kingdom, opening the door for the company to serve homes and businesses in the country.
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
According to Ofgem, the license took effect at 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday and applies to Great Britain.
The approval allows Tesla’s energy business to sell electricity directly to customers in the region, as noted in a Bloomberg News report.
Tesla has already expanded similar services in the United States. In Texas, the company offers electricity plans that allow Tesla owners to charge their vehicles at a lower cost while also feeding excess electricity back into the grid.
Tesla already has a sizable presence in the UK market. According to price comparison website U-switch, there are more than 250,000 Tesla electric vehicles in the country and thousands of Tesla home energy storage systems.
Ofgem also noted that Tesla Motors Ltd., a separate entity incorporated in England and Wales, received an electricity generation license in June 2020.
The new UK license arrives as Tesla continues expanding its global energy business.
Last year, Tesla Energy retained the top position in the global battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator market for the second consecutive year. According to Wood Mackenzie’s latest rankings, Tesla held about 15% of global market share in 2024.
The company also maintained a dominant position in North America, where it captured roughly 39% market share in the region.
At the same time, competition in the energy storage sector is increasing. Chinese companies such as Sungrow have been expanding their presence globally, particularly in Europe.
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
