First Look: Tesla Referral Program in China for Free Merch, Supercharging and More [VIDEO]

Photo: Jay in Shanghai

After tech sleuths discovered a rebooted Tesla referral program in the mobile app’s code, the automaker’s Chinese arm has officially debuted the renewed program.

Tesla announced a new referral program in China earlier this week, which lets anyone referring and being referred gain credits that can be redeemed for merch or Supercharging kilometers (via @Jay in Shanghai and @Tesla Mania). Now we’re seeing first looks at this new program shared online by Tesla owners in China.

Under the program, any person who refers another person to buy a Tesla receives 3,500 points, while the buyer also receives 3,500 points. Additionally, previous Tesla owners buying a new Tesla receive 7,000 points under the loyalty program.

Tesla Mania showed a screen recording of what the loot box marketplace looks like, scrolling through the various merch items that can be purchased for buyers, referrers and loyalty customers.

The available merch items include several items available on the automaker’s web store, including shirts, hats, socks, the TeslaMic, the Cyberwhistle, an umbrella, car mats and more.

The video and subsequent photos shared also show what the free Supercharging kilometers look like.

Many users in the thread questioned when the feature would hit other markets, since China is currently the only market where the program has launched. Many in the United States would love to have the referral program return to offer free Supercharging again.

Tesla’s “treasure box” in China means for those with either five or 20 referrals, they are entered into a draw for a Shanghai factory VIP tour, 50,000km of Supercharging credits, 12-month access to Model 3/Y boards or 24-month access to the Full Self-Driving beta (100 referrals).