Tesla Sparks Excitement with Vehicle Referral Rewards and Cybertruck Raffle

Tesla has brought back its vehicle referral program in the U.S. and Canada

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Tesla has reignited its referral program in the U.S. and Canada, offering customers a unique blend of rewards, including a chance to win a Cybertruck, one of the most eagerly awaited electric vehicles of the year.

The Referral Program has been a successful strategy for Tesla in the past, and this revamped version promises even greater benefits. The program works on a credit-based system, offering incentives for referring new customers and adding to one's own Tesla collection.

A referral that leads to the purchase of a Model S or Model X earns the referrer 3,500 credits, while a referral for a Model 3 or Model Y purchase garners 2,000 credits. Additionally, Tesla has not forgotten its loyal customers. If an existing owner purchases another Model S or Model X, they receive 6,000 loyalty credits. For Model 3 and Model Y, it's 3,000 credits.

Cybertruck Raffle: Tesla's Newest Attraction in the Referral Program

But perhaps the most exciting aspect of the new Referral Program is the Cybertruck raffle. For 500 credits, customers can enter a drawing to win a free Cybertruck, one of the first off the production line. Given the anticipation surrounding the Cybertruck, this raffle will likely become a popular part of the Referral Program, enticing both new and existing Tesla owners.

Loyalty Credits: Tesla's Approach to Reward Loyal Customers

Tesla's Referral Program is about earning credits and sharing the passion for Tesla products and their mission to transition the world to sustainable energy. Credits can be redeemed for various items, including free Supercharging, Tesla clothing, accessories, and software upgrades such as Enhanced Autopilot or Full Self-Driving.

With the Referral Program's return and the Cybertruck raffle's introduction, Tesla continues to foster a sense of community among its customers, enhancing the overall Tesla ownership experience. The program is not only a way to earn rewards, but also a tool to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy by encouraging more people to join the Tesla community.

In addition to the referral program's return, Tesla also recently opened up voting for its Earth Day Photo Contest, where they encouraged owners to send in their favorite photo of their vehicle.

Although there is no end date specified for the contest, Tesla says they will notify voters when winners have been chosen.

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Tesla Increases Price of Model S; Starts Offering Free Lifetime Supercharging

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For the first time in quite a while, Tesla has increased the price of one of its vehicle offerings. The Model S Long Range and the Model S Plaid have both received a hefty price increase. However, not all is bad - as Tesla also added a new benefit for buyers.

Price Increase

The price increase for the Model S is $5,000 - currently only in the United States. This price increase will likely impact other markets, including Canada, in the coming days.

The Model S Long Range now starts at $79,990, while the Model S Plaid now starts at $94,990. The Model S and Model X now have the same starting price. Interestingly, that’s also the same pricing point for the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast Trimotor non-Foundation Series. 

The vehicle configuration does not appear to have changed, so the new pricing is simply an increase rather than the addition or removal of features. Tesla previously cut the price of the Model S and Model X by 15% in 2023, so this could simply be an adjustment to ensure that the vehicle pricing stays in line with inflation and other factors.

Free Lifetime Supercharging

For those on the fence about ordering a Model S, Tesla has brought back Free Lifetime Supercharging when you order a new Model S on or after December 13, 2024. As always, Free Lifetime Supercharging is restricted to the buyer’s Tesla account and to that specific vehicle. It cannot be transferred to another vehicle or another owner after ownership transfer. It’s worth noting, that it also doesn’t exclude the owner from receiving Supercharger idle fees or congestion fees. There is currently no end date for this promotion.

There are currently no changes to the Model X, neither a price increase nor the addition of Lifetime Superchargering. However, when Tesla makes changes to one of their premium vehicles, it usually affects the other one as well. So be on the lookout for potential changes to the Model X offering in the coming days.

We’ve seen Tesla value Lifetime Supercharging at $5,000, so this falls in line with the price increase we’re seeing. It’s possible that Tesla will begin to bring back Lifetime Supercharging as a perk for buying into their more premium Model S and Model X cars, or this could be another temporary promotion to get buyers who are on the fence to go ahead and make their purchase while this promotion lasts.

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Tesla’s Optimus Robot Learns to Walk Without Vision [VIDEO]

Optimus Falls - but catches itself!

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Tesla recently showed off a demo of Optimus, its humanoid robot, walking around in moderately challenging terrain—not on a flat surface but on dirt and slopes. These things can be difficult for a humanoid robot, especially during the training cycle.

Daily walks help clear your mind pic.twitter.com/dUsW58trS6

— Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) December 9, 2024

A Look Behind the Curtain

Most interestingly, Milan Kovac, VP of Engineering for Optimus, clarified what it takes to get Optimus to this stage. Let’s break down what he said.

Optimus is Blind

Optimus is getting seriously good at walking now - it can keep its balance over uneven ground - even while walking blind. Tesla is currently using just the sensors, all powered by a neural net running on the embedded computer. 

Essentially, Tesla is building Optimus from the ground up, relying on as much additional data as possible while it trains vision. This is similar to how they train FSD on vehicles, using LiDAR rigs to validate the vision system’s accuracy. While Optimus doesn’t have LiDAR, it relies on all those other sensors on board, many of which will likely become simplified as vision takes over as the primary sensor.

Today, Optimus is walking blind, but it’s able to react almost instantly to changes in the terrain underneath it, even if it falls or slips. 

What’s Next?

Next up, Tesla AI will be adding vision to Optimus - helping complete the neural net. Remember, Optimus runs on the same overall AI stack as FSD - in fact, Optimus uses an FSD computer and an offshoot of the FSD stack for vision-based tasks.

Milan mentions they’re planning on adding vision to help the robot plan ahead and improve its walking gait. While the zombie shuffle is iconic and a little bit amusing, getting humanoid robots to walk like humans is actually difficult.

There’s plenty more, too - including better responsiveness to velocity and direction commands and learning to fall and stand back up. Falling while protecting yourself to minimize damage is something natural to humans - but not exactly natural to something like a robot. Training it to do so is essential in keeping the robot, the environment around it, and the people it is interacting with safe.

We’re excited to see what’s coming with Optimus next because it is already getting started in some fashion in Tesla’s factories.

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