The Tesla Referral Program is ending, and I was fortunate enough to become the world’s top Tesla referrer with 300+ referrals, earning me $500,000 in Tesla Roadsters in just 2 months.
So how did I do it? Well, here’s the whole story.
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2008: I first hear of Tesla Motors & the original Roadster.
2012: Tesla Model S starts shipping & making the news. I was fascinated by all the tech but it was way out of my price range.
2014: Model S cartoon makes me officially decide that my next car would be the affordable mass-market Tesla.
March 2016: I upload my first ever Tesla video when I traveled to Cincinnati to reserve my Model 3. That video got the most views within 24 hours than any of my videos up to that point.
May 2017: I create a video for the Tesla Project Loveday contest. Even though it got a lot of positive feedback I was heartbroken when I wasn’t one of the finalists.
Feb 28 2018: I upload my “First Impressions of the Model 3” video after traveling hundreds of miles & paying $300 to rent one. I immediately fell in love with the car.
Apr 22 2018: I release the best & worst Tesla rap video you’ll ever see.
Apr 30 2018: I take delivery of my Tesla Model 3. I did not have a referral code of my own at this time.
May 11 2018: After Tesla starts enabling referral codes for Model 3 owners, I create my Genius link but at the time the code only applied to Model S & X purchases.
Jun 24 2018: I upload my full Model 3 review video which eventually becomes the #1 result on YouTube for “Tesla Model 3 Review”. However, I never mentioned my referral code in the video. It was only in the description.
Aug 1 2018: Tesla enables referral codes to be applied to Performance Model 3 orders along with Model S & X.
Sep 6 2018: I upload my “True Cost of a Tesla Model 3” video which eventually becomes one of my most popular videos.
Oct 7 2018: I upload my “Tesla Model 3 Uber/Lyft” video which goes semi-viral after Elon likes it on Twitter & Tesla tweets it. Around this time I notice that I’ve gotten a handful of referrals.
Oct 19 2018: Tesla makes all vehicle orders eligible for referrals so I start mentioning my code in all my Model 3 videos from then on.
Nov 11 2018: I upload my “Tesla Model 3 Buyers Guide” video. At that time the referral program was set to end on Dec 10 so I had less than a month to get over 30 referrals in order to reach 55 referrals which was the amount needed to win 100% discount on one future Tesla Roadster. This was also when Tesla was urging people to order their Model 3 by the end of November to lock in the full tax credit. This skyrocketed my referrals.
Nov 15 2018: I upload a video about how my Model 3 handles cold weather conditions.
Nov 16 2018: I hit 55 referrals to win my first Roadster.
Nov 25 2018: I release my Model 3 Road Trip video. By this time, Tesla was strongly pushing Model 3 sales and this is when my referrals went crazy – multiple per day. I surpassed 105 referrals which was the amount needed to win a 2nd Roadster.
Dec 4 2018: I become the world’s top Tesla referrer with over 200 referrals.
So how did my small amount of Model 3 videos lead to roughly $17,000,000 revenue for Tesla? I think it came down to these main things:
Value & Unique Perspective: Producing high quality content for a specific audience it in a unique way.
Passion & Timing: I’ve been passionate about Tesla for years even before I got my Model 3. My videos mixed with the increasing popularity & excitement of the Model 3 along with Tesla’s biggest sales push due to the federal tax credit ending – it all happened at the perfect time for me as a referrer.
Experience & Strategy: The strategy I used to create my Tesla videos that led to 300 referrals is the same strategy I’ve used for years to create my other product review videos: provide value to a target audience and give them a call to action.
Why is Tesla ending the referral program? I personally think Tesla couldn’t afford to keep giving away free Supercharging to each referral. What do you think?
Big thanks to Tesla for the referral program and big thanks to all who used my code! I’m very fortunate to have participated & end with the most Tesla referrals in the world. It’s been a heck of a ride, and I can’t wait to continue to refer people to Tesla & EV’s in general.