So far it looks to be a glitch that effects BC residents that gave the referral. It’s a very convenient glitch that only effects those that are in violation of the Motor Vehicle Act. It would be very helpful if people would clarify how there miles were awarded. Were they awarded when you purchased or provided referral. So far it seems only referrers are losing them. I’m still hoping for glitch but it seems very unlikely.
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BC and (new) Referral Program
- Thread starter AtlasTracer
- Start date
lestager
Tesla McQueen
Lost my 7500km I had at purchase as well. 2 weeks away from My 9 State 13 day Tesla roadtrip that I budgeted thinking I had 7500km's of Free Supercharging. Bummed about this is an understatement. This was the reply I got from the Tesla referral program.
Referral Program
07:36 (5 minutes ago)
to me
I do apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused. All rewards are excluded from this province. As mentioned before we are gaining clarification on this, and should come to a resolution soon. Currently we are working with your local area to receive more information on the law that prevents rewards being received in this area. We were under the impression the only referees were not eligible, but it seems this may not be correct. In the midterm we have removed the miles as a preventative measure until we receive more information. We are hoping to have everything straightened out in the next 2 weeks.
Thanks for the additional information, looks like everyone in BC is going have the reward revoked. It so petty of traditional car dealers to pressure the government over such a silly technicality. The spirit of the act was to avoid shady car salesman and now its the shady car salesmen using the act to try and damage the only company that doesn't have salesman. In fairness though I am sick of all the craigslist ads and everyone with a youtube account peddling their referral code.
Tesla didn't steal you anything, they are just complying with the law. Don't shoot the messenger.
This kind of reaction towards Tesla is what led them not doing the EV rebates anymore and making us paying the amounts upfront and get refunded from province: people were blaming them for changes in the rebate programs.
Tesla didn't steal you anything, they are just complying with the law. Don't shoot the messenger.
This kind of reaction towards Tesla is what led them not doing the EV rebates anymore and making us paying the amounts upfront and get refunded from province: people were blaming them for changes in the rebate programs.
Are you crazy? Tesla took my supercharger KM's out of my account, not anyone else. You are grossly misinformed.
lestager
Tesla McQueen
Tesla only put a stop on them while they deal with the Government of British Columbia coming down on them. They are legally covering their selves until they have final confirmation. If it is deemed that we are still allowed to have KM's based on purchasing with a referral code then they will turn on the switch again. Sadly any KM's that were earned from others using OUR referral codes will not come back. This is due to an archaic line in the BC Motor Vehicles Act.
Well they gave you them in error and then corrected the error. Tesla has done a terrible job handling it that is for sure. That should have at the very least contacted everyone that the kilometers had been removed or had a message appear in when you plugged in at the super charger. It was a little shady to not inform people and just hit up your credit card.
lestager
Tesla McQueen
I feel bad for the guy who was 900km's into his 4500km trip, which he probably didn't budget paying charging for.
I at least have 3 weeks before my big 13 day trip to figure out costs. Sigh
Yes, I don't know why Tesla doesn't put a stop to the program in BC and than goodwill some free Kilometers for the screw up. Its not a crime to give out free stuff for bad service, every good business does it. The other thing I wish they did was allow you to give you credit to other Tesla drivers. I was never going to use mine but it would have been nice to be able to hit someone up at a super charger like a coffee at Starbucks.
In fairness, it sounds like they breached the law and are now scrambling to try and reduce their risk of liability. Just like when they populated their MVPAs with a 12% tax vs. a 13% tax (and had to ask for another $550 at delivery, rather than lower the delivery fee by $81), or when they fixed their website to allow the price of the car to be shown without the "gas savings" included (which probably breached the unfair advertising provisions of the Competition Act), or when they had to scramble to get people back their $2k BC rebate (because they didn't reserve the funds before the program changed, like every other "dealer" had been doing).
Frankly, they seem to shoot themselves in the foot on a lot of the small stuff, which leaves a bad taste in people's mouths who aren't hardcore Tesla fans. My personal view is that if they don't stop acting like a cowboy startup (tough to think that will happen when you look at the top of the food chain), it will limit their ability to scale and, when there's real competition from a major car company (ie, with a fun, reasonably priced EV), they're going to have their lunch eaten.
PS: Edited to add that I just checked my account and it still has the referral program up and running. Tough to blame anyone but Tesla for the confusion its causing to its customers.
lestager
Tesla McQueen
That would be great on their part, if in the end BC does not allow it in the end, that Tesla at least would come around and just give the gift to the current BC Tesla owners who have been affected. It's nothing out of their pocket as we already had those KM's to begin with.
Here is my take on this.
I think someone at Tesla made an error.
The BC Motor Dealer Act does not prohibit the giving of a benefit to someone who buys a car. It does prohibit a person who is not buying a car from receiving a benefit because that person did something to achieve the sale.
“salesperson" means
(a)an individual, other than a motor dealer, who, on behalf of a motor dealer and for or in the expectation of a fee, gain or reward,
Tesla giving a purchaser free kilometers of Super Charging is not different in principle from a dealership giving the purchaser of an ICE vehicle a full tank of gas and free oil changes for a year.
If the ICE dealership gave gasoline and oil changes to someone who made a referral to the dealership, that would be an offence.
I think that Tesla recognized that they had to reverse the free kilometers to people who received the kilometers when they made a referral that resulted in the sale of a Tesla.
Then someone at Tesla made an error and thought they had to reverse all of the free kilometers, including those who received them because they bought a Tesla.
I think we need to continue to advise Tesla of the error until they correct the error.
I think someone at Tesla made an error.
The BC Motor Dealer Act does not prohibit the giving of a benefit to someone who buys a car. It does prohibit a person who is not buying a car from receiving a benefit because that person did something to achieve the sale.
“salesperson" means
(a)an individual, other than a motor dealer, who, on behalf of a motor dealer and for or in the expectation of a fee, gain or reward,
(i)solicits, negotiates or arranges for the sale of a motor vehicle to a person, or
(ii)in any way participates in the soliciting, negotiating or arranging for the sale of a motor vehicle to a person,
(ii)in any way participates in the soliciting, negotiating or arranging for the sale of a motor vehicle to a person,
Tesla giving a purchaser free kilometers of Super Charging is not different in principle from a dealership giving the purchaser of an ICE vehicle a full tank of gas and free oil changes for a year.
If the ICE dealership gave gasoline and oil changes to someone who made a referral to the dealership, that would be an offence.
I think that Tesla recognized that they had to reverse the free kilometers to people who received the kilometers when they made a referral that resulted in the sale of a Tesla.
Then someone at Tesla made an error and thought they had to reverse all of the free kilometers, including those who received them because they bought a Tesla.
I think we need to continue to advise Tesla of the error until they correct the error.
I think it is unlikely that Tesla, which sells cars internationally, is likely to change its sales model for a tiny marketplace like BC. The population of BC is under 5M.
I don't think the change you suggest would achieve Tesla's goal. I think Tesla wants Tesla owners to be advocates for their cars. By having referral codes, current owners are motivated to promote the cars. The more a Tesla owner promotes the cars, the more rewards they get.
Simply giving every new purchaser the same benefits and giving current owners who promote the car no benefits would not achieve Tesla's goals.
Actually, according to the email in this thread, Tesla was under the impression that the free Supercharger kms were allowable under BC law. Someone (dealership association) has filed a complaint with the BC government over the practice, and the BC government has instructed Tesla to discontinue the practice, which means Tesla has to comply, and remove the rewards or face a lawsuit.
You want to bitch at someone, call your MP, the local Dealership association, or organize a protest at city hall. Tesla’s hands are tied until YOU do something about this.
You want to bitch at someone, call your MP, the local Dealership association, or organize a protest at city hall. Tesla’s hands are tied until YOU do something about this.
I'm with you MexiCancuk. If it's this section that's at issue, it seems clear from the opening words that nothing would preclude a buyer from receiving an incentive from a dealer, as a buyer could never be said to be acting "on behalf of a motor dealer" in expecting a "fee, gain or reward" for buying a car from that dealer. The buyer would clearly be acting on behalf of him/herself (and contrary to the interests of the dealer).
Interpreted otherwise, as you point out, a dealer would not be able to provide any incentives (like a tank of gas or even a discount off MSRP?) to a buyer without being offside.
I could see someone saying the buyer participated with the Craigslist guy trolling for referrals in soliciting a sale (subparagraph (a)(ii)), but I don't think a buyer could ever be said to be acting "on behalf of a motor dealer" (ie, the opening words, which you need to trip before getting into subparagraph (ii).
I think there's a good chance this gets resolved in favour of us buyers, assuming this is the issue at hand.
You are correct in that people should get in contact with lawmakers and put pressure on them. Fossil manufactures using this type of tactic to attempt to hinder sales of EVs should not be acceptable. I suspect local news would be the way to go. Tesla handling of this has been horrible. They have some accountability here, they can't just award free super charging and than just pull it without any kind of statement or announcement. I suspect Tesla just can't be bothered because sales are still good and they really don't care that much if they piss of people that have already bought the car. The downside of this is they collect more money at the super charger.
P.S. It's pretty sad how Tesla did exactly what the dealership association wanted and handled the whole thing badly and pissed people off.
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