Tesla Referral Program

[gdrum]

Sigh. I am really disappointed in those posting either offering or asking for codes. Mods should shut down this and the other 100 threads that will pop up. Tesla should read them and disallow this commerce.

Just amazing to me that ethics seem to disappear with a small hint of money. The intent of program is to reward for personal referrals. That's someone you know and invest time educating... not somebody you find by trawling in a forum.

Possible I use my thousand dollar credit and order a charging station, put it on the wall of the side of my business, add to plugshare etc for free charging in a rural midwest area. All of which would later benefit hundreds of owners long term? Imagine if a huge chunk used the credit for this, stuck them at their vacation homes, grandmas coffee shop. Etc. It could be revolutionary.

 

[bonnie]

Possible I use my thousand dollar credit and order a charging station, put it on the wall of the side of my business, add to plugshare etc for free charging in a rural midwest area. All of which would later benefit hundreds of owners long term? Imagine if a huge chunk used the credit for this, stuck them at their vacation homes, grandmas coffee shop. Etc. It could be revolutionary.

Is that what you're doing? Pretty sure it's not what some of these other people are doing ...

 

[gdrum]

Is that what you're doing? Pretty sure it's not what some of these other people are doing ...

That is what is what I want to do. I only want one. It would be fun to bring in owners, chit chat, and talk when im bored at work or having a slow week. I have no clue what anyone else is doing, nor really care.

 

[Doug_G]

Just in case anyone hasn't noticed... we're not allowing referral links to be posted in TMC. It goes against the spirit of the program. Please refrain from posting said links.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Just in case anyone hasn't noticed... we're not allowing referral links to be posted in TMC. It goes against the spirit of the program. Please refrain from posting said links.

Thank you Doug_G! Any chance you can expand the policy to ban posting things like "PM me/call me/txt me, etc for a referral code, and I'll give you $$$$" type posts, or generally any bartering or exchange of referral codes, or referral code begging in signatures, and threads like the "Model S Referral Link Thread"? Thanks for your consideration.

 

[OriginalRoadster]

Some folks who are or were Tesla employees aren't allowed to post to TMC or anywhere else while they're employed. If you look at his previous post about his experience working for Elon, it would seem that was the case.

I do not believe that only having a handful of posts in and of itself make a poster's contributions less valuable. I do believe that in the case I was referring to, the very few posts over three years before posting in an attempt to "use" TMC for personal gain helped highlight the attempted abuse.

I, and I hope most others, view TMC as a community. A community is about give and take. When new members join the community, at first they generally benefit from the community more than they give back to it, in the form of knowledge they are gaining from reading the posts, etc. But before long these new members are giving back to the community by participating in discussions and often helping even newer community members.

In my mind, someone who had fewer than ten forum posts in over three years was not making much of an effort to participate in or contribute to the community. The fact that he or she then saw an opportunity to attempt to "use" the community for personal gain speaks volumes. That's how the number of posts factors in, in my mind.

Neither of them would ever think of doing it, but if Bonnie or Nigel or someone who has contributed a great deal over a very long time were attempting, in some small way, to benefit in some personal way from a post on the forums, I think in general the community members would have much less of a problem with it, because of what those people have already done for the community. Of course that's a moot point, because it's not something they would do. I bring up the example only to demonstrate that in my mind, and I think in the minds of other forum members, there --IS-- a difference between community members who contribute positively and those who don't.

 

[MsElectric]

Thank you Doug_G! Any chance you can expand the policy to ban posting things like "PM me/call me/txt me, etc for a referral code, and I'll give you $$$$" type posts, or generally any bartering or exchange of referral codes, or referral code begging in signatures, and threads like the "Model S Referral Link Thread"? Thanks for your consideration.

I guess someone considering buying a Model S can just PM a few forum members who are Model S owners based on their signatures and negotiate how much they can get for using a referral link. They'll be like "Hank offered me a $1,000 referral link and to sweeten the deal he promised to show me how to write software. What are you offering if I use your link?" :tongue:

 

[bonnie]

I guess someone considering buying a Model S can just PM a few forum members who are Model S owners based on their signatures and negotiate how much they can get for using a referral link. They'll be like "Hank offered me a $1,000 referral link and to sweeten the deal he promised to show me how to write software. What are you offering if I use your link?" :tongue:

Or maybe they can use the referral link of the owner who actually helped convince them to buy a Model S. That would be good .

 

[JPP]

Went by my local TM Store/gallery today over lunch (...short walk from my office). Did not see an owner standing outside the door with a stack of note cards with his/her name & referral URL (....yet). Joked with the sales manager who I am friendly with...they were a bit blindsided by Elon's announcement. BTW, if you like your local TM Store, they do get some kind of credit if a customer orders their car in the store. And, yes, they can use your referral URL there as well.

 

[cpa]

HLR,

I am unclear as to what you mean by "gross-up the winnings." If we assume the car has a value of $130,000, then that will be the amount that would appear on the winner's form 1099-MISC in box 3. The winner would report this amount on line 21 of his/her form 1040 to be added to all the other types of taxable income from all sources.

For accounting and income tax purposes, Tesla will only deduct the cost to manufacture the car, regardless of the fair market value (sales price) or agreed-upon arm's length value of the vehicle given away to the winner. However, for income tax purposes, Tesla values the award at the sales price for an equivalent sale.

Decades ago I helped a friend get a short-lived game show off the ground. The contestants won prizes--sometimes cash, sometimes merchandise, and there were always the famous "parting gifts." Everything but the cash was usually donated to the producers of the game show in exchange for on-the-air plugs and "free" advertising. We relied upon the sponsors and manufacturers to tell us the fair market retail value of the products. My memory is hazy after all these years, but a year's supply of a carbonated beverage (essentially 52 coupons for a free 6-pack) was valued at approximately 25 cents more than the usual retail price at grocery stores. With the exception of the parting gifts, contestants were offered a choice of taking the product and paying taxes on the value, or taking cash in lieu at a significant discount, and paying taxes on the cash. Most took the cash.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

this is a perfect opportunity for a business - they buy 10 and have their employees "refer" them and then get a 11th Model X for free...

 

[Doug_G]

Thank you Doug_G! Any chance you can expand the policy to ban posting things like "PM me/call me/txt me, etc for a referral code, and I'll give you $$$$" type posts, or generally any bartering or exchange of referral codes, or referral code begging in signatures, and threads like the "Model S Referral Link Thread"? Thanks for your consideration.

If you think someone is spamming members with offers via private message, please let the moderators know. The site admins can restrict their PM rights.

 

[HankLloydRight]

HLR,

I am unclear as to what you mean by "gross-up the winnings." If we assume the car has a value of $130,000, then that will be the amount that would appear on the winner's form 1099-MISC in box 3. The winner would report this amount on line 21 of his/her form 1040 to be added to all the other types of taxable income from all sources.
.

When companies give out awards with large cash values, they often "gross-up" the winnings to include the taxes the winner would pay on the original prize. Yes, that's included in the 1099 also. There are formulas to calculate the total gross-up amount, for instance: How to Calculate Federal State Taxes for Gross-Up Purposes or The Mathematics Of Gross-Up

Gross-up can apply to prizes, cash bonuses from work, moving expenses, etc.

Many years ago I won round-trip, business class airfare to Europe for two people from an American Express contest. While I got the tickets for free, AMEX grossed-up the fair market value of the tickets and sent me a check to cover the taxes on the tickets, and the tax on the tax, and so on and so on, so I was essentially $0 out of pocket for the prize.

Tesla may or may not gross-up the value of the MXs they are giving away. My guess is they aren't, but it would be nice.


Edit to add:

If the Model X prize is worth $130,000, and the winner's tax rate is 28%, the gross-up would be:

X = $ 130,000
..........1 – .28

or $50,555

 

[JPP]

Wait until we see an owner standing outside the door of their local TM Store/gallery with a stack of note cards with his/her name & referral URL....

 

[Johann Koeber]

Or log in to MyTesla to get your link and a link to the program details.

No referral code in junk folder. No link in mytesla.

I just now sent an email to tesla and asked for one.

 

[jackbowers]

Seems to me that if there were some sort of financial model to help 60 kWh Tesla owners upgrade to a 70D, there might be a lot of potential activity there. Those who are dying to go to the Gigafactory event (or who really badly want a Founders Model X) could buy five (ten) 60kWh cars at prices above normal trade-in and resell them on ebay for $55-60k (where the demand for used Model S vehicles is very strong), in exchange for getting the referral credits on the 70D purchases. This owners-helping-owners approach would have the potential to make everyone a winner in some way. Does anyone know what Tesla normally offers on a 60KWh trade-in?

 

[BoerumHill]

Just in case anyone hasn't noticed... we're not allowing referral links to be posted in TMC. It goes against the spirit of the program. Please refrain from posting said links.

Thank you!

 

[fiksegts]

This would be quite an issue, it would be too easy for someone to offer a Tesla employee a cut to rack up 10 sales really quick.... I would think any orders coming from a Tesla IP address would be invalid...

Went by my local TM Store/gallery today over lunch (...short walk from my office). Did not see an owner standing outside the door with a stack of note cards with his/her name & referral URL (....yet). Joked with the sales manager who I am friendly with...they were a bit blindsided by Elon's announcement. BTW, if you like your local TM Store, they do get some kind of credit if a customer orders their car in the store. And, yes, they can use your referral URL there as well.

 

[Ronist]

I'm looking to buy one and needs a referral.

 

[mibaro2]

Possible I use my thousand dollar credit and order a charging station, put it on the wall of the side of my business, add to plugshare etc for free charging in a rural midwest area. All of which would later benefit hundreds of owners long term? Imagine if a huge chunk used the credit for this, stuck them at their vacation homes, grandmas coffee shop. Etc. It could be revolutionary.

You could always apply for the Tesla Destination Charger program. They will give you the charger for free.
(nice thought for using your credit)