When Tesla relaunched its referral program earlier this year, it introduced a range of enticing rewards for those who had accumulated credits. Among these new incentives was the opportunity to enter a sweepstakes with the grand prize being one of the first production Cybertruck electric pickup trucks, available for 500 credits. More recently, as reported by Electrek, Tesla has added another sweepstakes, allowing participants to vie for a Model 3 Performance.
For 1,000 of their hard-earned credits, members of the Tesla referral program can place their name in the draw to potentially win a Model 3 Performance in a scheduled October 6th drawing. It’s worth noting that residents of New York, Florida, and Rhode Island are ineligible for this sweepstakes, but all other U.S. residents have a shot at winning.
It’s important to mention that this sweepstakes was announced prior to the arrival of the Model 3 Highland refresh on North American shores. As such, it is likely that the Model 3 Performance offered in the sweepstakes will be a pre-refresh version.
News of this giveaway garnered mixed reactions on the r/TeslaMotors subreddit. Some commenters criticized the move, suggesting that Tesla might be using the sweepstakes to encourage consumers to redeem their referral credits for an entry that does not guarantee a reward. Assessing the validity of this theory remains challenging because there is no concrete data available to determine how many users opt to exchange their credits for items like a wall connector or other physical goods. Consequently, it is impossible to make a direct comparison between the perceived loss of value in these transactions and the cost associated with giving away a Model 3 Performance.