Tesla Brings Back European Referral Program As First Quarter Ends Nears

Tesla brings back his sponsorship program to Europea strategy that taps into customer loyalty to the brand with the aim of preserving market share and driving sales before the end of the first quarter of 2023.

The referral program follows Tesla’s decision to cut prices in various markets, including Europe, China and North America.

Starting Tuesday in Europe, new Tesla buyers can receive 100 so-called “loot box credits” when referred by a current Tesla owner, who will receive 2,000 credits for the referral. If the referred customer takes delivery before March 31, 2023, they will receive a bonus of 5,000 free Supercharge kilometers, and the referrer will receive 10,000 credits. These credits can be redeemed for software upgrades, up to 10,000 kilometers of free boost “and more”.

Tesla has never used traditional advertising, so the company has always used its referral program to get its loyal customer base to promote the vehicles. These rewards have changed over the past few years. At times, owners could earn rewards like having a photo of their choice launched into deep-space orbit, an invite to an upcoming Tesla event, or even free new Roadsters to owners who racked up enough referrals.

Tesla realized that such extravagant rewards were starting to eat away at profits, so in 2019 the automaker suspended the program and came back with a more reasonable program that gives the referral giver and receiver 1,000 boost miles. free each.

Last November, Tesla launched a revamped referral program in the United States, which provides credits that can be used towards the purchase of Tesla solar products, such as the solar roof and solar panels. Tesla has also launched a program in China called Treasure Box, where owners get credits that can be used to purchase accessories such as vehicle chargers, t-shirts or shot glasses.

The decision in Europe suggests that Tesla is trying to retain, if not increase, its dominance in the market. Tesla was the most popular electric vehicle brand in Europe last year, with the Model Y and Model 3 topping the charts with 138,373 and 91,257 sales respectively. This is followed by the Volkswagen ID.4 with 68,409 units sold, the electric Fiat 500 with 66,732 and the plug-in hybrid Ford Kuga with 55,018 sales, according to Inside EVs.

While Tesla was the most popular electric vehicle brand in Europe last year, it actually lags behind the major multi-brand OEMs. The Volkswagen Group, which includes brands like Audi and VW, actually has the largest plug-in electric vehicle market share at 20.6%. Stellantis, BMW Group and Hyundai follow with 14.6%, 10.5% and 10.1% respectively. Mercedes and Tesla are tied at around 9% of the shares.

Since this week, Tesla has finally reached its production capacity of 5,000 vehicles per week at its Berlin gigafactory – a milestone that CEO Elon Musk had originally promised for the end of 2022. Although production figures do not match sales, it is possible that increased production in Europe could help the car manufacturer to maintain its position and gain even more market share in the future.

The referral program isn’t the only move Tesla is taking to boost sales, especially ahead of its quarterly earnings release. In January, Tesla cut prices for Model 3 and Model Y vehicles by 20% in the United States and Europe. Earlier this month, the automaker also slashed prices for the Model S and X in the United States.

In December 2022, Tesla also offered up to $7,500 in rebates for vehicles purchased and delivered before the end of the year in hopes of attracting buyers who might otherwise wait until the new year when incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act would come into effect.