Elon Musk Ends Popular Tesla Customer Referral Plan

Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed via Twitter today that the electric car manufacturer would be ending its popular customer referral program soon, stating that the program proved too costly.

Reuters reports that Tesla CEO Elon Musk used his Twitter account to announce company news this week, something which he has become prone to do in recent months and which once cost him $20 million. Musk stated that Tesla’s referral program will end on February 1, urging customers to refer friends to buy a Tesla and give them 6 months of free Supercharging before the deadline.

The Tesla customer referral program will end on Feb 1. If you want to refer a friend to buy a Tesla & give them 6 months of free Supercharging, please do so before then.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 17, 2019

One Twitter user noted that the current referral round was supposed to run until March 11 but was now being cut short, they asked if the referral program was being ended for good or just that round. Musk replied that the program was being shut down entirely as it was adding too much cost to the cars, “especially Model 3.”

Yes, ending on Feb 1. It’s adding too much cost to the cars, especially Model 3.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 17, 2019

Tesla isn’t the only one of Musk’s companies implementing cost-cutting measures. Breitbart News recently reported that Elon Musk’s space exploration firm SpaceX plans to cut ten percent of its current workforce in order to manage costs. The company said in a statement that the sudden layoffs are in an attempt to become a “leaner company” and that they only needed to be done due to “the extraordinarily difficult challenges ahead.”

According to the most recent estimate of SpaceX’s workforce, which according to COO Gwynne Shotwell was 7,000 employees in 2017, this would mean that approximately 700 SpaceX employees will be let go. It is unknown at this time which areas of the company will lose staff. There are currently no reports of staff cuts at Tesla.