Tesla expands $2,000 referral bonus program

Tesla is refusing to buckle to dealer pressure in Virginia and California over the company's incentive referral program. Instead, the EV brand is doubling down on some even sweeter rewards. "It seems to be working," Elon Musk told owners in a letter obtained by Hybrid Cars without going into specific figures.

Under Tesla's original pilot program running through September 31, whenever a current owner successfully recommends a new Model S to a friend, both parties receive a $1,000 credit from the EV maker. Although for those in Virginia, the buyer gets the whole $2,000 due to "bird-dogging" laws there. Under this expansion, there's no longer a maximum number of referrals possible, and the person with the most by October 31 gets to trade in his or her Model S "for a fully loaded Ludicrous P90D Model S," according to the letter. That's quite a value.

The new Model S upgrade comes in addition to the already tempting bonuses of the referral program. Namely, the first person to 10 recommendations in the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America regions receives a free Model X. Anyone else to achieve that level would get an upgrade on the electric crossover to the exclusive Founder Series trim – a value of about $20,000. A winner in Norway was able to find 10 people to take up the offer in barely a week.