Tesla has reintroduced its referral program in the U.S. today. You’ll need Tesla App V4.36.1 to see the updated referral menu, so be sure to update your app first.
The program is quite different from the original program, and rather than offering referral credits, instead Tesla is offering a redeemable gift card. Let’s dig into the new offerings.
Rewards
Not a Tesla App
The new referral program will provide referrers $500 credits, while the user of the code receives $1,000 off a new Tesla. The $500 can be used toward just about anything, including Supercharging, software upgrades, merchandise from the Tesla Shop, service payments, or even a new vehicle. However, users are limited to 10 awards. Each referral code is also only good to get $1,000 off a new Tesla for the first 10 uses.
That means that if you refer 10 people, you can receive up to $5,000 towards your next Tesla, or just about anything else under the Tesla umbrella. Tesla isn’t clear whether the limit of 10 uses is per year or lifetime, however, we’re excited to see the program officially return.
Tesla Events
One of the most unique parts of the program is that those who refer new buyers will also have the chance to win an invitation to upcoming Tesla events. So, if you want to see the Robotaxi event on October 10th, best get referring!
Referrals in Other Markets
Currently, the referral program seems to be limited to the United States. Canadian and European uses are currently unable to see the updated referral UI, and the button to open the link to refer isn’t available in the app. We’re hopeful Tesla will implement the referral program in other markets as well. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if Tesla turns it on and off in select markets based on demand.
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Tesla has once again adjusted its buyer promotions, including its FSD transfer offer and 0% financing. To accompany these changes, Tesla has also made some changes to its referral program.
FSD Transfer Now Includes Cybertruck
The FSD transfer window is available for orders placed after October 9th and delivered before the end of the year. Initially, the Non-Foundation Series Cybertruck was excluded, while the Foundation-Series Cybertruck came with FSD. However, the FSD transfer offer now applies to every Tesla model with the exception of the Tesla Semi.
Keep in mind that you do not need to trade your car in for this offer. You may simply remove FSD from your current Tesla and put it on your new one. Your older Tesla will simply revert to Basic Autopilot, or you can use the monthly FSD subscription.
0% Financing Without FSD Purchase
Tesla is continuing its enticing 0% financing deal but with a few changes. Initially, this deal was tied to purchasing FSD, but the latest update removes that requirement. This offer is only available for buyers of the Model 3 and Model Y in the U.S. However, the terms vary slightly between the two models:
Model Y: 0% financing is available for up to 60 months. If buyers prefer to extend their loan, they can opt for 0.99% financing on 72-month loans. Either option requires a 20% down payment.
Model 3: 0% financing is available for 36 months. For longer loans, buyers can get 0.99% for 48 months or 1.99% for 60 months. The Model 3 also requires a 20% down payment.
While this offer is similar to the 0% financing available before, it’s great that it's no longer tied to the purchase of FSD. Users can instead choose to subscribe to the $99/month FSD plan. A 20% down payment is about $10,000, depending on the exact model and trim.
Changes to the Referral Program
With the changes to these offers, Tesla has also adjusted its referral program. Referrers will still receive a $500 shop credit for every referral, but buyer incentives have changed. Buyers will now only receive $500 off a Model 3 or Model Y instead of the previous $1,000 when using a referral code.
Buyers of the Model S and Model X will receive $1,000 off the vehicle’s purchase price, which remains unchanged. For now, the Cybertruck is excluded from the referral program.
Tesla started some of these aggressive incentives at the end of the previous quarter, but surprisingly, they’re continuing them into the last quarter of the year. Given all of its incentives, this may end up being a very good quarter for Tesla.
Tesla’s latest iOS app update reveals several upcoming features that we’re sure everyone has been looking forward to. As usual, the Android update is likely a few days out.
As usual, Tesla App Updates (iOS) has kindly provided a breakdown of the decompiled app update, which reveals three key things: watch support, Banish, and a new way to onboard FSD users.
Tesla Watch App
People have been requesting a Tesla app on their watches for ages. Smart watches have become fairly ubiquitous today, and third parties have been providing Tesla functionality for both Android and Apple’s signature wearables for years.
However, using the Tesla API has some limitations, making a third-party solution less ideal. In addition, Tesla plans to charge developers for API calls in the near future, which means some wearable apps have moved to subscription-based services while others charge a large up-front fee.
However, the wait for an official watch app may soon be over. This latest version of the Tesla app, v4.38.0, reveals that you’ll need to select a vehicle to show on the watch, hinting that the UI will show a single vehicle at a time, which is to be expected.
We’re not sure whether you’ll be able to use the Apple Watch as a key for the vehicle, but Tesla app update 4.38 adds the ability to perform offline commands as long as the vehicle is within Bluetooth range. So even if Tesla doesn’t add key support, you should be able to unlock or start the vehicle even if you don’t have your phone or an internet connection.
Back in March of this year, a fan asked Musk if Tesla could add support for the Apple Watch. Musk replied, “Sure.” While not all of Musk’s yes replies result in a feature being implemented, a large percentage of them do, even if they’re a year or two later. Given this previous post and now this new watch code found in the latest update, it seems all but certain that we’ll get Apple Watch support soon.
We’d guess that Apple Watch support will be included in Tesla’s big Christmas update later this year (a look back at previous holiday updates).
Given Tesla’s propensity to launch features on iOS before Android, expect support for the Apple Watch before Android’s Wearables, but hopefully, Tesla is working on both.
Apple Watch concept created by a fan
@niccruzpatane
Banish (Reverse Smart Summon)
As part of Tesla’s FSD Roadmap, they mentioned that Park Seek and Banish (Reverse Smart Summon) will arrive in October. Banish will allow users to get out of their car in a parking lot, and the car autonomously find a parking spot (Park Seek) and park itself using Autopark.
Overall, it's a necessary system for Robotaxi and Cybercab, and it's been one of the most anticipated features for FSD for a long time. The sheer convenience of being able to get out of your car at the mall entrance while the vehicle locates its own parking spot and then comes back to pick you up using Actually Smart Summon - that’s just next level.
In the recent app update, Tesla revealed a few phrases related to Banish - namely some information about “Parking Map,” “Parking Occupancy,” and “Parking Details.” It seems that Banish will map the parking lot while it drives around, looking for a parking spot. Once it finds one, it’ll park and then relay that information back to the user, so that you know where the vehicle parked.
It seems that you may also be able to direct Banish to a specific parking area. Once it arrives, it’ll let you know if there’s a spot, and if not, it'll keep searching.
New User FSD On-Boarding
The final new feature tease is an interesting one. Tesla has recently put out another free trial for FSD, but many people trying it out for the first time (or the first time in a while), may not know what to expect. While Full Self Driving is a fantastic piece of software - it's still something that users have to supervise today.
We’ve recently been hoping that Tesla would address the user knowledge gap for new-to-FSD owners, and it seems like they’ll be adding some tutorial information for how to use FSD in an upcoming app update. Personally, the author has found people tend to panic when they see the steering wheel turn, jiggle, or the car accelerate hard—all things that happen on a day-to-day drive with FSD. While most FSD users are well-conditioned to the quirks, new users could be scared away.
We’re excited to see what kind of tutorials Tesla adds for users. We hope they’re in-depth and explain what certain FSD visualizations, like black or blue cars, signify.
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