Referrals on Model 3 don't exist !!

[mswlogo]

Long story but here goes.

I had a Non-P AWD on Order about 3 weeks ago (no reserve).

I had tweaked my order Color and Wheels a couple times and I asked folks at the Store if it would impact my potential delivery date if I fiddled with it. They said probably not. Only if you had a delivery date or VIN. Not this early would it affect it. I was also trying to see if I might get an early hit on car nobody wanted (e.g. like white seats).

I was getting a little concerned it might not make end of year since I had a delivery estimate as far out as Dec 18.

I know odds were good I'd get one fine. But I was obsessing I might not.

Then I learned about the free supercharging on Performance Model 3. That had a few positives.
I'd almost definitely get it way sooner, free supercharging, a cooler car and less time obsessing while I wait.

I really wanted time to think it over and do more research. The whole model 3 thing was all new to me.
But the deadline was Sunday. Well I figured switch it NOW before Sunday and keep doing my due dillgence and keep my options open.

Well it APPEARED to get free supercharging I needed to have placed the order THROUGH a referral.
I call up Tesla Store, explain the situation and they say come on down and we'll fix it.

Go down take a test drive and switch the order to performance and add referral. I left thinking it was all done.

I get home and I forgot about something and had to call them back. The sales person I was working with answered. And he said I was gonna call you tomorrow. We need to cancel your old order and place a new order with the referral to get me the supercharging. Well I could have done that myself. I was pretty upset because remember I was tentatively moving it to Performance with the thought I still had the option to come to my senses (according to my wife) and move it back to AWD. I realize it's no guarantee that this would not have impacted my original AWD delivery if I did that. But I suspected it would not. Nobody but Tesla programmers really know.

So I was pretty psyched about the performance and I said go ahead. I was kind of forced to committing to the Performance on the Spot and I knew it would not impact the Performance delivery date all that much if I could have used the old reservation number (I think that it still had SOME value though). They also wanted ANOTHER $2500 deposit. And the other order goes into the you'll get credit up to 45 days later pile. And I have TWO Model 3's sitting in my account with Deposits for days. Finally the old one canceled.

So after all this I get zero confirmation that I'm getting free supercharging and my Model 3 friend that gave me the referral sees 0 Ordered Referrals on his account. He also got a Referral for his car from another Model 3 friend. Their 2 accounts, each with active cars for a couple weeks, still shows nothing.

I call the Store and ask them all about this. They assure me they SEE the referral and I'm fine. I ask can I at least get a screen shot or something as some proof that I ordered it under the correct conditions for free supercharging. He said sure, come on down, you can take all the screen pics you want.

I go down and I ask can they show me the screen with the referral. First guy says I have no access for that info. Let me get someone else with more authority. Finally this new guy says, there are NO Referrals on Model 3, period. All performance Model 3 get free supercharging with no referral. So that's why it doesn't show up.

So why did they cancel my old reservation and charge me $2500 more. I know I'll get it back. I could have done that myself any time by Editing the Design. And I would have kept the old RN# and my original Deposit. And if I came to my senses I could move it back to AWD (as long as no delivery is scheduled or VIN assigned). I know I might have lost my place making a major change and I know the P-AWD could lock in any time (calculated risk). But I think having that earlier commitment might have had some weight.

I very well may stick with the performance. But the whole thing really gets under my skin.

The person that gave me the referral to the Model 3 (for any trim) gets 0 credits on their account.

Conclusion Referrals mean squat on Model 3 according to that Tesla OA. What he said makes sense by what we see.

But it also ticks me off that hours before, when I called someone at the same store said sure, I see it on my screen. What the Heck. And why the sales person that canceled my order and created a new one, who also said they could see the referral too and had no idea referrals on Model 3 are moot.

 

[ulrichw]

One thing about Tesla is that they seem to have a process that results in a lot of Tesla reps handing out incorrect information.

Tesla's own website documents the referrals (from: Referral Program): "Tesla customers can give friends exclusive benefits on Model S, Model X, Model 3 Performance and solar panels with their personal referral code."

I'm guessing the part that confused the OA may have been that Model 3 Performance cars delivered before 8/1 were eligible for the free supercharging without a referral.

So stick to your guns - keep calling until they fix this. After all is said and done I'm pretty sure you'll end up with your free supercharging and your friend will get credited for the referral (as long as you stick with the P, of course).

 

[mswlogo]

One thing about Tesla is that they seem to have a process that results in a lot of Tesla reps handing out incorrect information.

Tesla's own website documents the referrals (from: Referral Program): "Tesla customers can give friends exclusive benefits on Model S, Model X, Model 3 Performance and solar panels with their personal referral code."

I'm guessing the part that confused the OA may have been that Model 3 Performance cars delivered before 8/1 were eligible for the free supercharging without a referral.

So stick to your guns - keep calling until they fix this. After all is said and done I'm pretty sure you'll end up with your free supercharging and your friend will get credited for the referral (as long as you stick with the P, of course).

I've seen the line your quoting. It shows up every time I go into my account.

The person (OA?) that demod the performance and canceled the order and issued the new one was not there today when I was informed referral's don't matter.

It's possible this OA I had today is partially correct in that the Order System was never setup for Model 3 to have Referral's (I find that odd, why not). So even though it's partially setup (referral link, documentation etc.) . It does not reflect it. And possibly even though it's marketed this way, the current implementation is every Model 3 Performance gets supercharging and the referral goes in the bitbucket.

So in some sense both OA's might be correct. But this loophole (no referral needed) that the earlier OA didn't know about, could have been taken advantage of and not require canceling and reissuing the new order with a referral.

I'll call the other OA that was absent today, tomorrow. One of them doesn't understand the details.

My brain/justification for the performance appraises the supercharging as potentially worth $5K (if we keep it long enough). That's what I tell myself and my wife. So total out of pocket cost for performance in my head is $5k. Which is a bargain. We do a 300 mile round trip every weekend and there is a supercharger 3/4 way up (on both sides of highway) with a restaurant(s) we like and we always eat out on that trip. It's a perfect setup. We might get sick of that restaurant though

 

[xyeahtony]

You'll get free supercharging if you use a referral. But even if you don't, would that really stop you? Hundreds of thousands of people reserved Model 3s knowing full well there was no free supercharging.

So consider free supercharging a bonus, not a right.

 

[mswlogo]

You'll get free supercharging if you use a referral. But even if you don't, would that really stop you? Hundreds of thousands of people reserved Model 3s knowing full well there was no free supercharging.

So consider free supercharging a bonus, not a right.

I would NOT get the performance if not for free supercharging.
I had planned to get the AWD initially with no expectation of free supercharging.

According to OA tonight (and 3 other OA's standing around listening), referral does not make any difference on Model 3.
It won't even register it happened in the system.

I think what he said made sense based on what my friend and his friend sees on their accounts (i.e. Zippo), because they are all Model 3's.
Marketing and implementation are not quite aligned. And by the time they are, the program will be over.

If anyone can show a screen shot of anything showing a referral to a Model 3 (performance or not) I'd love to see it.

 

[Willow2018]

I ordered the performance model and have sent six requeststo get free supercharging added to my order. Each Tim I call they say that there is a glitch in their system and they are working on it. I call ever single day adding another request to get it fixed. Maybe someday someone can figure It out. I also paid for my model 3 performance 4 weeks ago and it is sitting with 20 other model 3’s at the Salt Lake City Union Rail station for over two weeks. I go to the Salt Lake City Tesla almost daily to see if they can figure out how to get the car that is two miles away from train station to the store. The Tesla managers can’t figure out how to get the 20 cars that are sitting at the train station 2 miles away. They said the haven’t been able to figure out how to get the cars released to them. Talk about serious problems! If there are any cars that had the same technology that Tesla has I would definitely be done with Tesla and buy something else. Tesla really needs to get their act together. I hope this is just the Salt Lake City store.

 

[drawfour]

I would NOT get the performance if not for free supercharging.
I had planned to get the AWD initially with no expectation of free supercharging.

This is really confusing to me. Given the cost of electricity at a SuperCharger and the cost of Performance, how many miles *of supercharging* would you need to do in order to break even? I calculated for me it was around 160,000 miles. That seemed unlikely that I would use it, since I won't supercharge for daily use. If free supercharging is your only reason to get Performance, you probably should have stuck with AWD. But hey - whatever floats your boat.

 

[EVChris]

I'm getting a Performance 3 with the expectation of free supercharging and a referral for a free charger which would get kicked back to me. I'm confused about how to do this and I've gotten confused texts from my OA. So I'm driving down to Fremont today and talking with them in person.

 

[mswlogo]

This is really confusing to me. Given the cost of electricity at a SuperCharger and the cost of Performance, how many miles *of supercharging* would you need to do in order to break even? I calculated for me it was around 160,000 miles. That seemed unlikely that I would use it, since I won't supercharge for daily use. If free supercharging is your only reason to get Performance, you probably should have stuck with AWD. But hey - whatever floats your boat.

If performance was $5k do you think many folks would buy it? Well if I can get $5k of free fuel my performance will cost me just $5k.

Is getting getting $5k worth of supercharging realistic? I don’t know. Is it possible, I think so.

Also my electricity rates are fairly high $.22 kWh compared to average.

I don’t need to break even to make Performance a more attractive option.

It would not be considered without some “discount”. Supercharging is that discount. Maybe it ends up $3k discount. That’s ok too. But I could never justify the full price of performance. There is the perk of it arriving sooner than AWD as well. But that alone wasn’t enough to pay full price.

Depending on how much we supercharge and how long we keep it. It could, in theory, pay for itself.

Also we can’t predict future electricity rates.

 

[EVChris]

Ok, I just dropped by the Fremont Sales Center and straightened my Performance 3 order out.

You can still get free supercharging for Performance 3 orders until tomorrow night. You qualify for free supercharging but you still need to get a referral code (which should not be hard to come by) and give Tesla that. My OA said that order + deposit need to be in by tomorrow but that the referral itself could get submitted later. Then you get the free supercharging and the referral-ee gets the benefit (free charger).

I don't remember ever seeing where I could enter the referral code on my Tesla account page. I think that was always something the OA handled. Maybe someone else knows different/better.

 

[mswlogo]

Ok, I just dropped by the Fremont Sales Center and straightened my Performance 3 order out.

You can still get free supercharging for Performance 3 orders until tomorrow night. You qualify for free supercharging but you still need to get a referral code (which should not be hard to come by) and give Tesla that. My OA said that order + deposit need to be in by tomorrow but that the referral itself could get submitted later. Then you get the free supercharging and the referral-ee gets the benefit (free charger).

I don't remember ever seeing where I could enter the referral code on my Tesla account page. I think that was always something the OA handled. Maybe someone else knows different/better.

The only way users can get it in is to use the users referral html link. That takes you to webpage to choose S,X or P3D for freesupercharging.

I certainly would not chance it and not use a referral. But I think my OA is correct. System doesn’t know what do with it.

Also my OA said he could NOT add a refrral.

Ask them for proof it’s on the order. They can’t show anything. It might be in there but it’s completely invisible.

Also you won’t see anything on the person that gave the referral and there is a place to show that an order has been placed. It only works for referral to a model S or X.

Model 3 was not intended to offer it. But they later added it for performance 3 only. But the system doesn’t know what to do with it.

Because of that it’s automatic on performance 3 with or without referral. If order is in by tomorrow.

Ask another OA and you’ll get a different answer.

 

[electrictorque]

I was also promised free surpercharging access using a referral after the order was placed for a p3d. I have a saved voicemail with said promise just in case.

 

[mswlogo]

I was also promised free surpercharging access using a referral after the order was placed for a p3d. I have a saved voicemail with said promise just in case.

You’d think they could provide something as proof of purchase. I think OAs are not concerned because they know all performance model 3 will get it. Regardless of the marketing campaign of referrals needed.

 

[JST]

The only way users can get it in is to use the users referral html link. That takes you to webpage to choose S,X or P3D for freesupercharging.

I certainly would not chance it and not use a referral. But I think my OA is correct. System doesn’t know what do with it.

Also my OA said he could NOT add a refrral.

Ask them for proof it’s on the order. They can’t show anything. It might be in there but it’s completely invisible.

Also you won’t see anything on the person that gave the referral and there is a place to show that an order has been placed. It only works for referral to a model S or X.

Model 3 was not intended to offer it. But they later added it for performance 3 only. But the system doesn’t know what to do with it.

Because of that it’s automatic on performance 3 with or without referral. If order is in by tomorrow.

Ask another OA and you’ll get a different answer.

The referrals for Model 3s will show up in your account summary. I’m looking at one right now.

That said, this whole thing has been deeply screwed up. A friend and I ordered Model 3Ps at about the same time, both using my code (I have an S). For a while just his order showed up on my summary. Then it was just mine. Then it was both of them. Now it’s back to just being his, which is annoying.

 

[mswlogo]

The referrals for Model 3s will show up in your account summary. I’m looking at one right now.

That said, this whole thing has been deeply screwed up. A friend and I ordered Model 3Ps at about the same time, both using my code (I have an S). For a while just his order showed up on my summary. Then it was just mine. Then it was both of them. Now it’s back to just being his, which is annoying.

In my friends case Model 3 to Model 3, It has never showed anything. And his model 3 to my 3P shows nothing.

It bothers me his shows nothing and they cannot provide any proof they did what they said they did.

 

[electrictorque]

When I log in to my account to either tesTe web site or using the phone app, it shows that I can give out supercharger referrals. I'm assuming that is because I also have free supercharger access in my account.

 

[TEG]

...this new guy says, there are NO Referrals on Model 3, period. All performance Model 3 get free supercharging with no referral. So that's why it doesn't show up...

From owner referral links:

 

[TEG]

When I log in to my account to either tesTe web site or using the phone app, it shows that I can give out supercharger referrals. I'm assuming that is because I also have free supercharger access in my account.

I do NOT have free supercharging (just RWD model 3), and I have had a link that says it would provide free supercharging to someone else.
(Unfortunately, I never got anyone to use my link...)

 

[mswlogo]

From owner referral links:
View attachment 335351

I know all about that page.

It doesn’t mean squat. They cannot (and will not) provide proof that, that page was used to make a purchase ( for a model 3 performance)

They canceled my original order so that page could be used. They provide nothing to show for it. And then tell me we can’t provide proof because it doesn’t matter that the referral was used.

Why do think someone else posted above they are saving a voice mail as their only proof.

 

[jgrgnt]

I ordered my P3D without a referral code. I mistakenly assumed there would be a field to add it later in the ordering process. Oops, there wasn't! The next day, I tried to add it by calling my local store. Except, they weren't able to add it either at the time, because "the systems were still being upgraded to handle Model 3 referrals". They took down my information, including the referral code, and told me "it would be done." Made me a bit nervous, but I decided to wait it out and let them handle it.

My referral finally showed up in my loot box about two weeks after delivery. (I used my own referral code to order the P3D.) Still waiting for free supercharging. Will call them again in another week.