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Tesla’s updated deadline for referral program winners shows focus on logistics
Tesla has announced that all winners of the recently-concluded Referral Program must select their prizes by February 28. After this date, those eligible for rewards would not be able to redeem their prizes anymore. Based on the deadline cited by Tesla, it appears that the electric car maker is aiming to start the second quarter of 2019 on a clean slate, as it pursues sustainable profits and a steady Model 3 ramp.
Prior to the recent update, Tesla’s deadline for the selection of referral program prizes was listed on April 1, 2019. Tesla has not revealed its reasons behind its updated deadline, though based on the company’s recent challenges in Europe, there is a good chance that the February 28 date was set as a means to optimize logistics in the coming quarters. Despite most of the items related to the rewards system likely being in Tesla’s inventory (such as wall connectors and wheels), the processes involved with ordering, processing, and shipping the prizes are no joke. Factor in possible returns and other fulfillment issues and the logistics involved in the referral program’s distribution of prizes becomes even more notable.
By moving the deadline for the referral program’s prize selection to February 28, Tesla appears to be ensuring that its logistics capabilities are not weighed down unnecessarily in the coming months, especially as the company prepares for the upcoming rollout of the Mid Range Model 3 RWD to international markets. Tesla learned in its first European Model 3 shipment that the processes involved in moving vast numbers of vehicles to customers in a foreign country are no joke. That said, these recent challenges are but the tip of the iceberg for Tesla, as thousands more would be coming to China and Europe in the coming months.
Tesla appears set to operate using a lean, optimized team this year, as evidenced by the 7% workforce reduction that the company implemented last month. As it tackles its most ambitious year yet, Tesla seems set on focusing its workforce in pursuing high-value tasks such as expanding its service network and helping ensure a smooth Model 3 ramp. In this light, it would be far more preferable for Tesla’s logistics team to busy itself with tasks far more urgent than fulfilling referral program prizes.
Below are the timelines for the redemption of Tesla’s referral program awards.
- Launch Your Photo into Deep Space Orbit: Additional details will be emailed ahead of the launch.
- Signature Black Wall Connector: Current shipping times are 6-8 weeks.
- Model S for Kids: Model S for Kids will be shipped directly from Radio Flyer in April. Those who choose to donate to a children’s charity will receive an email from the organization when the donation has been completed.
- 21” Arachnid Wheels for Model S or 22” Turbine Wheels for Model X: Wheels are shipped to your selected Service Center 6-8 weeks after award selection. Your Service Center will contact you once your wheels are available for pick-up.
- Forged Performance Wheels for Model 3: Model 3 wheels will be available for installation beginning Summer 2019.
- One Week with Model S or Model X: You will be contacted by your selected location based on availability. If you do not use this award, it may be given to a friend.
- Priority Access to Vehicle Software Updates: Priority software access will automatically be granted until December 31, 2020.
- Unveiling Event Invitations: Invitations will be emailed ahead of each unveiling event. Once each event is at capacity, remaining winners will be invited to the following unveiling event, prioritized by time of award qualification.
- Tesla Credit: Credits are applied to your account within 1-2 weeks of selection from the app or solar referral email survey. All credits expire after 12 months.
- Cash: Once survey responses are selected, checks will be issued within 4-6 weeks.
- Founder Series Powerwall 2: Founder Series Powerwalls will be shipped in 2019. In Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific, customers can select credit toward other products in lieu of this award.
Tesla’s recent update on the referral program’s awards selection deadline could be accessed here.
Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) closed at an all-time high on Tuesday, jumping over 3 percent during the day and finishing at $489.88.
The price beats the previous record close, which was $479.86.
Shares have had a crazy year, dipping more than 40 percent from the start of the year. The stock then started to recover once again around late April, when its price started to climb back up from the low $200 level.
This week, Tesla started to climb toward its highest levels ever, as it was revealed on Sunday that the company was testing driverless Robotaxis in Austin. The spike in value pushed the company’s valuation to $1.63 trillion.
Tesla Robotaxi goes driverless as Musk confirms Safety Monitor removal testing
It is the seventh-most valuable company on the market currently, trailing Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet (Google), Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta.
Shares closed up $14.57 today, up over 3 percent.
The stock has gone through a lot this year, as previously mentioned. Shares tumbled in Q1 due to CEO Elon Musk’s involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which pulled his attention away from his companies and left a major overhang on their valuations.
However, things started to rebound halfway through the year, and as the government started to phase out the $7,500 tax credit, demand spiked as consumers tried to take advantage of it.
Q3 deliveries were the highest in company history, and Tesla responded to the loss of the tax credit with the launch of the Model 3 and Model Y Standard.
Additionally, analysts have announced high expectations this week for the company on Wall Street as Robotaxi continues to be the focus. With autonomy within Tesla’s sights, things are moving in the direction of Robotaxi being a major catalyst for growth on the Street in the coming year.
Elon Musk
Tesla needs to come through on this one Robotaxi metric, analyst says
“We think the key focus from here will be how fast Tesla can scale driverless operations (including if Tesla’s approach to software/hardware allows it to scale significantly faster than competitors, as the company has argued), and on profitability.”
Tesla needs to come through on this one Robotaxi metric, Mark Delaney of Goldman Sachs says.
Tesla is in the process of rolling out its Robotaxi platform to areas outside of Austin and the California Bay Area. It has plans to launch in five additional cities, including Houston, Dallas, Miami, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.
However, the company’s expansion is not what the focus needs to be, according to Delaney. It’s the speed of deployment.
The analyst said:
“We think the key focus from here will be how fast Tesla can scale driverless operations (including if Tesla’s approach to software/hardware allows it to scale significantly faster than competitors, as the company has argued), and on profitability.”
Profitability will come as the Robotaxi fleet expands. Making that money will be dependent on when Tesla can initiate rides in more areas, giving more customers access to the program.
There are some additional things that the company needs to make happen ahead of the major Robotaxi expansion, one of those things is launching driverless rides in Austin, the first city in which it launched the program.
This week, Tesla started testing driverless Robotaxi rides in Austin, as two different Model Y units were spotted with no occupants, a huge step in the company’s plans for the ride-sharing platform.
Tesla Robotaxi goes driverless as Musk confirms Safety Monitor removal testing
CEO Elon Musk has been hoping to remove Safety Monitors from Robotaxis in Austin for several months, first mentioning the plan to have them out by the end of 2025 in September. He confirmed on Sunday that Tesla had officially removed vehicle occupants and started testing truly unsupervised rides.
Although Safety Monitors in Austin have been sitting in the passenger’s seat, they have still had the ability to override things in case of an emergency. After all, the ultimate goal was safety and avoiding any accidents or injuries.
Goldman Sachs reiterated its ‘Neutral’ rating and its $400 price target. Delaney said, “Tesla is making progress with its autonomous technology,” and recent developments make it evident that this is true.
Investor's Corner
Tesla gets bold Robotaxi prediction from Wall Street firm
Last week, Andrew Percoco took over Tesla analysis for Morgan Stanley from Adam Jonas, who covered the stock for years. Percoco seems to be less optimistic and bullish on Tesla shares, while still being fair and balanced in his analysis.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) received a bold Robotaxi prediction from Morgan Stanley, which anticipates a dramatic increase in the size of the company’s autonomous ride-hailing suite in the coming years.
Last week, Andrew Percoco took over Tesla analysis for Morgan Stanley from Adam Jonas, who covered the stock for years. Percoco seems to be less optimistic and bullish on Tesla shares, while still being fair and balanced in his analysis.
Percoco dug into the Robotaxi fleet and its expansion in the coming years in his latest note, released on Tuesday. The firm expects Tesla to increase the Robotaxi fleet size to 1,000 vehicles in 2026. However, that’s small-scale compared to what they expect from Tesla in a decade.
Tesla expands Robotaxi app access once again, this time on a global scale
By 2035, Morgan Stanley believes there will be one million Robotaxis on the road across multiple cities, a major jump and a considerable fleet size. We assume this means the fleet of vehicles Tesla will operate internally, and not including passenger-owned vehicles that could be added through software updates.
He also listed three specific catalysts that investors should pay attention to, as these will represent the company being on track to achieve its Robotaxi dreams:
- Opening Robotaxi to the public without a Safety Monitor. Timing is unclear, but it appears that Tesla is getting closer by the day.
- Improvement in safety metrics without the Safety Monitor. Tesla’s ability to improve its safety metrics as it scales miles driven without the Safety Monitor is imperative as it looks to scale in new states and cities in 2026.
- Cybercab start of production, targeted for April 2026. Tesla’s Cybercab is a purpose-built vehicle (no steering wheel or pedals, only two seats) that is expected to be produced through its state-of-the-art unboxed manufacturing process, offering further cost reductions and thus accelerating adoption over time.
Robotaxi stands to be one of Tesla’s most significant revenue contributors, especially as the company plans to continue expanding its ride-hailing service across the world in the coming years.
Its current deployment strategy is controlled and conservative to avoid any drastic and potentially program-ruining incidents.
So far, the program, which is active in Austin and the California Bay Area, has been widely successful.
Tesla stock closes at all-time high on heels of Robotaxi progress
Tesla needs to come through on this one Robotaxi metric, analyst says
