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Tesla’ new Referral Program rewards allows owners to send photos to deep space

[Credit: Harbles/Twitter]

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Starting October 5, Tesla customers who encourage their friends and family to purchase Model S, Model X, Model 3 and solar products using their referral code are set to receive a new set of perks. While Free Unlimited Supercharging has really been retired, Tesla’s new Referral Program rewards include some cool rewards, including one which involves Elon Musk’s other venture, SpaceX.

Tesla’s $100 Supercharging Credit, which the company introduced when it initially retired the Free Unlimited Supercharging program, now applies to every purchase of a new Model S, Model X, or Model 3. Unlike Free Unlimited Supercharging, which only applied to the Model 3 Performance, the $100 Supercharging Credit seems to apply for all Model 3 purchases regardless of trim level. 

Perhaps most notable, though, is “Launch Your Photo into Deep Space Orbit,” a new reward for owners with one qualifying referral. The cool, fun perk involves Tesla laser-etching any photo of the owner’s choice that would be sent into deep space. Tesla did not state it explicitly on its new Referral Program page, but the laser-etched photos would most definitely be sent to orbit using rockets from Elon Musk’s private space company, SpaceX. Owners who wish to send their pictures to deep space orbit can expect a reminder on their Tesla mobile app to upload their selected photo sometime in December 2018.

Tesla owners with four qualifying referrals would also be given priority access to vehicle software updates. The company notes that once owners become eligible for this award, their vehicles will automatically receive software updates once available. Tesla owners who own more than one vehicle would see all of their electric cars get priority access to software updates, provided that the vehicles are associated with the same award-eligible Tesla Account.

Here is Tesla’s new Referral Rewards, effective October 5 – December 10, 2018.

1 Qualifying Referral:

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Launch Your Photo into Deep Space Orbit – We’ll laser-etch any image onto glass and send it into deep space orbit for millions of years. Refer more friends while you wait for an alien race to discover your payload.

2 Qualifying Referrals:

Owners can choose either of the options below for each of their second referral.

Signature Black Wall Connector – This matte black Wall Connector is exclusive to the Referral Program and includes an etch of Elon’s signature.

Founders Series Tesla Model S for Kids – Share the Tesla experience of this miniature drivable electric Model S – including working headlights, a sound system and a charge port, just like yours. You can configure the Model S for Kids to keep or donate it to a local children’s charity.

3 Qualifying Referrals:

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Owners can choose either of the options below for their third referral.

21” Arachnid Wheels for Model S or 22” Turbine Wheels for Model X – Enhance the performance of your Tesla with these exclusive wheels.

One Week with Model S or Model X – Experience a new Model S or Model X for one week—at home or on the road. If you do not use this award, this exclusive test drive may be given to a friend.

4 Qualifying Referrals:

Priority Access to Vehicle Software Updates – Be the first to experience the latest Tesla software updates with priority access to selected releases.

5 Qualifying Referrals:

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Tesla Unveiling Invitation – Experience an official unveiling event. Owners who reach five referral orders will be invited to a future unveiling event. Your VIP invitation will be valid for you and one guest.

Race an Electric Semi Truck

One winner each week will get to race a giant electric semi truck around our test track. There will be additional prizes and trophies for the best track times. Each friend who signs up for our newsletter through your referral link gets each of you an entry. Owners can track their entries and the leaderboard in the Tesla App.

Solar: 5-Year Extended Limited Warranty

Owners can give five friends a 5-year extended limited warranty on a new solar energy system installation, and will be eligible to receive referral awards.

1 to 5 Qualifying Referrals:

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Receive $250 cash or credit per each installed referral. – Credits are valid for 12 months from the referral installation date and can be used toward new Tesla products or accessories.

The full terms and conditions of Tesla’s new Referral Program can be accessed here.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Why automakers keep turning down Elon Musk’s Tesla Full Self-Driving offer

Elon Musk confirms no automaker has ever accepted Tesla’s offer to license Full Self-Driving software.

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Elon Musk gave a brief answer on X Monday that confirmed that Tesla’s standing offer to license Full Self-Driving to other automakers still has zero takers. Sawyer Merritt wrote that “Tesla has for years openly invited other automakers to license FSD. None of them have accepted,” responding to a prediction from Boom Supersonic founder Blake Scholl that Tesla would eventually open FSD the way it opened its Supercharger network to rival brands. Musk’s reply to Merritt was one word: “Exactly.”

It is not the first time Musk has made this point. He said something similar in November, when he called legacy automakers reluctance to adopt FSD “crazy,” and Tesla has floated the offer publicly since at least 2021. Scholl’s prediction touches on something real. Once NACS became the de facto charging standard, adoption from Ford, GM, Rivian and others followed within about a year. FSD licensing was supposed to work the same way once Tesla built enough of a lead that switching made sense for everyone.

The case for licensing now is stronger than it was two years ago. Waymo and Zoox are logging hundreds of thousands of unsupervised autonomous miles, along with Tesla’s own Robotaxi fleet. Every automaker still selling driver assist systems that lag FSD has given the robotaxi conversation to Tesla, Waymo and Zoox by default. Licensing FSD would let a GM or a Ford compete on the same field without spending a decade and billions of dollars building a stack from scratch, the same argument Tesla made when it opened the Supercharger network to bring more EVs onto its chargers.

But FSD is not a connector standard. As one reply to Musk’s post pointed out, licensing FSD is not a software license the way NACS was a plug spec. It requires adopting Tesla’s eight camera layout and its onboard compute architecture, meaning a licensee’s cars would effectively become Tesla hardware wearing someone else’s badge. That is the visible obstacle. The less visible one is data. A licensed FSD stack would report back the same telemetry Tesla collects from its own fleet, giving Tesla a continuous read on how a competitor’s cars are actually driven, where they struggle, and how often drivers intervene. For an automaker trying to build its own autonomy program, or simply trying to keep its build quality and safety record private, handing Tesla that visibility could be a bigger cost than the hardware bill. It is the reason the Supercharger comparison only goes so far. Opening a charging plug cost Tesla very little. Opening FSD would cost a rival something it cannot get back.

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Tesla Roadster is available for order once again following brief hold

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(Credit: luxunsheep/Instagram)

Tesla has reopened reservations for its long-delayed next-generation Roadster, asking buyers for a $50,000 deposit just days before an October 1 reveal event in Waco, Texas. The move revives a reservation process first launched in 2017 and later paused when Tesla pulled pricing from its website in 2021.

The reservation page requires an immediate $5,000 credit-card payment, described as fully refundable, followed by a $45,000 wire transfer due within 10 days, which is identical to what was expected previously. Reservations are not considered final until the wire clears.

The structure matches the 2017 terms Tesla used when it first collected deposits after unveiling a prototype. Tesla has not published a confirmed retail price or production start date on the order page.

The October 1 event is scheduled in Waco, about 90 minutes north of Tesla’s Austin headquarters and near SpaceX’s McGregor rocket test site. Tesla sent invitations to existing reservation holders and posted a “Go for launch” teaser on September 12.

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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) established a temporary flight restriction over the McGregor area from September 18 through October 2, consistent with plans for a demonstration involving SpaceX-designed cold-gas thrusters. Elon Musk has previously described the optional package as enabling extreme acceleration or brief hovering. Tesla has said the event will include pricing, specifications, and production targets.

The second-generation Roadster was first shown in November 2017 during Tesla’s Semi launch. Musk promised production in 2020, with claimed performance of 0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds, more than 250 mph top speed, and roughly 620 miles of range.

Those targets have slipped repeatedly.

Tesla later pointed to 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025-2026 before indicating production would not begin until 2027 or 2028 at Gigafactory Texas. Design work has continued, with reports of a sharper, Cybertruck-influenced look replacing the original curvy prototype.

Original reservation holders who paid $50,000 in 2017, or $250,000 for the Founders Series, have waited nearly nine years without a production car. Some high-profile customers canceled. Tesla’s decision to reopen orders now, after previously shutting them down, tests whether new buyers will commit substantial funds before seeing a finalized production vehicle. The October 1 event is intended to answer remaining questions about what those buyers will actually receive and when.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving expands to another European country

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is heading to Czechia after the Czech Ministry of Transport recognised the Dutch RDW’s provisional type approval, making the country the seventh EU member state to clear the system for public roads. Tesla Europe announced on 21 September 2026 that “FSD Supervised is now approved in Czechia” and that rollout “will begin soon.”

The decision marks a notable reversal. Earlier in 2026, Prague had declined to automatically recognise the Netherlands’ April approval, citing concerns over speed-limit compliance, traffic-sign recognition and driver-attention monitoring, and arguing that a coordinated EU approach was preferable. Officials said months of expert review, talks with Tesla and other member states, and real-world data from countries already using the system resolved those issues.

“Safety remains the top priority,” the ministry stated.

FSD Supervised remains a Level 2 driver-assistance system: the driver must stay engaged and is legally responsible. Eligible vehicles need AI4, the company’s most up-to-date hardware version. Tesla is expected to push the feature over the air in the coming days, following the pattern seen after earlier national approvals.

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Europe’s rollout began when Dutch regulator RDW issued a provisional EU type approval on 10 April 2026 after extensive testing. Mutual recognition then produced a rapid cascade: Lithuania (20 May), Estonia (29 May), Denmark (9 June), Belgium (10 June) and Slovenia (7 September). Czechia now completes that list of seven.

The approvals cover only a modest share of the EU population, but they add political weight ahead of a 6 October vote by the Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles. A qualified majority, at least 15 of 27 member states representing 65 percent of the EU population, could open the remaining markets, including large ones such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain that have so far preferred to wait for a bloc-wide decision.

For Czech Tesla owners, the immediate prize is access to the same supervised highway and city driving already available in the other six countries. For Tesla, each new market generates additional European driving data and strengthens the case that FSD Supervised can operate safely under the continent’s varied road rules. The Czech approval is therefore both a local milestone and another incremental step toward a wider European launch.

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