Tesla is going to extend the expiration of its free Supercharging miles distributed through its referral program during the coronavirus pandemic.
Last year, Tesla ended its original referral program, citing concerns with the cost after having to give away over 80 new Roadsters.
A few months later, the automaker decided to relaunch the program with a completely different structure based on giving free Supercharging miles and chances to win a Model Y and a new Roadster.
Tesla started giving 1,000 miles of free Supercharging to both the owner giving the referral and the new buyer receiving the referral.
Later, the company gave people six months to use the miles after they were added and some owners have been reporting issues to get Tesla to account for their free Supercharger miles.
With the coronavirus pandemic, a lot of people are stuck at home and can’t use their free miles.
On Twitter today, CEO Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla will extend the period during which owners can redeem their miles since most people can’t use them right now.
The CEO didn’t elaborate on how long the period is going to be extended or if they will just freeze the six-month period for everyone until the shelter-in-place orders start to be lifted.
Tesla itself is operating with limitations until it can reopen its Fremont factory, which it is expecting to do on May 4 — contingent on the local shelter-in-place order in the Bay Area.
In a time of crisis, Tesla has often made Supercharging free in order to help people travel, as it did in China during the early coronavirus crisis in the country.
Electrek’s Take
That’s nice. I’m sure it would be frustrating to see those miles waste away.
Another thing to note during this lack of travel in the pandemic is that you should make sure that your insurance is being adopted with lower mileage.
Some insurers are doing it automatically, but you should make sure that they are lowering the mileage of your policy. They will do it retroactively for the current month, including Tesla Insurance — though you have to call them.
A friend of mine insuring a Model 3 in Los Angeles with Tesla Insurance called them and they lowered his insurance from $207 to $113 for the month.
That’s almost $100 in your pocket. Spend it wisely.
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