Tesla shared on X that it’s ending its current referral program globally by the end of April. It’ll be replaced by a new one, but that is still “a few months away”, according to CEO Elon Musk.
When Musk was asked if the current credits would be lost, Musk responded by saying “No, just that new credits would not be earned until we launch a future referral program.” That means there’ll be a gap of a couple of months when owners will not be able to earn referral credits.
Tesla was always famous for relying on its community to promote its vehicles rather than spending millions (or even billions) in ad campaigns.
Through Tesla’s referral program — which started back in 2015— customers have been earning referral credits by having friends use their referral link when ordering a Tesla product or taking their first demo drive. At the time, it started with a direct $1,000 prize for the referrer but later evolved to a more complex system with different tiers and points.
Prizes have changed a lot over the years
In its latest version, scheduled to end by the end of the month, Tesla models (S, X, and Y), along with Powerwall, solar panels, and solar roofs, are available for purchase using a referral link. In this version, owners can redeem credits from merchandise to software upgrades for their vehicles. They can even redeem credits for several months free of Premium Connectivity or FSD.
Our current referral program benefits will end after April 30 in all markets
Tesla’s first referral program was released in July 2015 where customers who referred new buyers would receive $1,000 for every new Tesla Model S delivered. For those who were able to accrue 5 or 10 referrals for the US automaker, Tesla raised the bar and offered invitations to the opening of its Giga Factories or even a fully loaded Model X.
Over the first 2 years, Tesla significantly increased the value of the prizes and even offered free or discounted Roadsters with enough referrals. However, in 2019, Elon Musk decided to stop amid cost concerns.
The referral program was re-launched in late 2019 offering new buyers free supercharging for a period of time, FSD access, premium connectivity, or $500 off a new vehicle.
What’s Next
Given the considerable gap of “a few months” between the current program and the next one, it is expected that Tesla will bring a new structure with updated awards focused on minimizing Tesla’s cost while increasing the brand’s awareness.
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Tesla recently shared statistics on its Supercharger expansion in the first quarter of 2025. The numbers highlight the work that Tesla’s teams are doing to expand the network and keep up with the growing demand from Tesla and non-Tesla vehicles.
Q1 2025 By the Numbers
Here’s how the Tesla Supercharger network performed in the first quarter of 2025.
Tesla brought online approximately 2,200 new Supercharger stalls worldwide, representing a 17% year-over-year growth for the quarter. That’s impressive growth, especially since Tesla is simultaneously working to transition older V2 stalls to V4 stalls.
Overall, Tesla delivered 1.4 TWh (that’s terawatt-hours) of energy to vehicles, representing a 26% year-over-year growth. More people than ever are using the Supercharger network - and with 42 million charging sessions in Q1 2025 (27% annual growth), Tesla is the de-facto standard for EV charging — even if the NJ Turnpike authorities don’t want to believe it.
That 1.4 TWh accounts for approximately 173 million gallons (657 liters) of gasoline being saved, which offsets 1.5B kilograms of CO2. While that may pale in comparison to the billions of metric tons of CO2 emitted by passenger vehicles every year in the US, it is still a significant amount of carbon being offset.
More Changes Coming
With such a strong start to the year, we can expect Tesla to continue posting impressive numbers throughout Q2 and likely throughout the remainder of 2025. Tesla’s pace of opening over 2,000 stalls (equivalent to 250 8-stall sites) per quarter seems to be well established, which means more density, faster charging, and more range for more parts of the world.
Tesla’s charging cables include a button on the handle that lets you easily stop charging and unlock the connector—but most third-party chargers don’t. If you’re using a non-Tesla charger, stopping a charge and releasing the cable or adapter typically means opening the Tesla app or using the in-car controls.
Now, Tesla is making that process a bit easier for Model 3 and Model Y owners.
How to Quickly Release Adapter or Charging Cable
As of update 2025.20, Tesla is introducing a shortcut that will stop the charging session and unlock the charging cable or adapter that is locked in place with a pin while the vehicle is charging.
By simply pulling and holding the rear left door handle, located next to the charge port on the Model 3 or Model Y, for three seconds will now cause the vehicle to stop charging.
Since Tesla locks the charging cable or adapter in place while the vehicle is charging or the vehicle is locked, this new feature can only be used if the vehicle is unlocked or if a key, such as your phone, is nearby.
The primary benefit of this method is for those using charging cables that don’t have an unlatch button or for owners using adapters, like the J1772 or CCS to NACS adapters, which may not unlatch if you press the button on the cable.
This is a nice little feature that'll go unnoticed by the vast majority of owners, but it’ll greatly benefit a few individuals who may not need to reach into their pocket or car to unlatch a third-party cable every day.
This feature is included in Tesla’s latest software update, 2025.20, which just started rolling out to customers in certain regions. The update isn’t as big as we were hoping for, likely due to Tesla’s engineers being focused on Robotaxi-specific features.
![Tesla Adds Third-Party Charge Cable Release Shortcut in Update 2025.20 [VIDEO]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/img/containers/article_images/2021/ccs-adapter.jpg/596b5f1e1d3797f6d2e2667c8af972f7/ccs-adapter.jpg)
