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Tesla has revamped its referral program in North America, shifting to a system allowing current Tesla owners to use their Tesla referral code to earn “loyalty points” that can be spent on various Tesla products.

The newest iteration referral program gives “credits” to both the buyer and referrer of a product, with a scaling amount of credits depending on the product purchased. The credits are only given to both buyer and referrer if the buyer is not a current Tesla customer – if they are a current customer, then they will earn their own “loyalty credits” but won’t be able to use a referral code.

Tesla’s referral program page lays out the specifics, with further information available in the Tesla app’s “loot box” section.

So far, the only products that qualify for credits are Tesla solar panels and the Tesla solar roof, both of which give 6,000 credits each.

The page does say “earn credits upon delivery of your car or activation of your solar system,” which suggests that cars may be added to the page at some point. We’re not sure how many credits they will generate if they do get added to the program. While Tesla’s referral program was ended last year for cars, cash rewards for solar referrals continued and were active up until yesterday, when Tesla revamped the program to give out credits instead of cash.

tesla referral code

Those credits can then be spent on other Tesla products, though they expire after 12 months if not spent. The products are a selection from those on Tesla’s online shop, including both useful accessories for Tesla owners and some of the more “meme” products like Tesla’s short shorts or bizarre sipping glasses.

Here’s a complete list of products available:

The prices don’t seem to map proportionally to the prices of the real-life items (for example, the Wall Connector is $400, and J1772 Wall Connector is $550), but it looks like the value of a single solar roof referral is about the same as it was in the previous version of the program – in the range of a few hundred dollars.

We’ve expected something to happen with the referral program for a little while now, reporting last year that Tesla was considering changes to the program and then finding out last month that Tesla had updated the mobile app with new referral program info.

Last month, Tesla launched a new “points rewards” program in China, which turns out to be very similar to these new changes to the referral program. China also gets quarterly and annual raffles, which seem to be missing from the North American program. And Europe does not seem to have a similar referral program update as of this moment.

Tesla originally spawned the referral program after requests from Tesla fans who wanted to be rewarded for the number of friends they had converted to driving electric. In the early days of Tesla and EVs, word of mouth from EV fans was very effective at selling cars, particularly given the number of questions that prospective buyers might have about a new technology.

The referral program started off with $1,000 in “Tesla credits” for each use of an owner’s Tesla referral code. Those credits could be used on service and Tesla products, and then later Tesla started to offer various prizes like wall connectors, wheel sets, Tesla-branded luggage, and even sending your photos into space. It was modified many times, but eventually got a little out of control and Tesla killed off the program after they ended up promising over 80 next-gen Roadsters to top referrers.

The program was then scaled back to offer 1,000 free Supercharger miles to buyers and referrers, and most recently only consisted of a cash reward for solar roof referrals.

As of now, it looks like Tesla has mostly just modified the existing program of cash rewards for solar installations, but it’s clear that they have more planned given the “car” verbiage on their referral pages.

Electrek’s Take

This is interesting timing, considering Tesla has recently drastically scaled back its solar operation. We’ve received several reports of projects being cancelled and Tesla claiming they are shutting down operations, even in some popular markets, just in the last few weeks. So it seems like an odd time to revamp a system for solar referrals.

But this isn’t just about solar, is it? It seems clear that the program is intended to include cars at some point; they’re just not on there yet.

The introduction of the referral program in China coincided with a price drop in the region, suggesting that Tesla was looking to shore up demand after a few years of continual price hikes across the lineup and around the globe.

While we haven’t seen a price drop in the US (and don’t necessarily expect one), this could still be a way that Tesla is prepping to shore up demand on certain products, by adding them to the referral program when or if they see a need.

As for how we feel about it – this does seem a little more robust than the previous programs. Instead of a maze of ever-changing prize tiers, some of which were worth large amounts and took forever to deliver and some of which never materialized, we now have a clearer list of readily available products that have some monetary value but not enough to make referrers feel like total shills when recommending Tesla vehicles.

One of the issues with the original program, in my mind, was that it turned previously innocent EV evangelism into a method for personal profit, thus making it seem that word-of-mouth advocacy was being done for monetary gain, rather than honest recommendations from EV fans. It threatened to make EV fans seem like commissioned car salesman rather than genuine and honest advocates.

Now, there’s still a sense of monetary gain here, but it’s more like a perk – a few T-shirts, some supercharger miles, or a spare charging connector for each use of a referral code. It’s not as overwhelming as the idea that someone could earn a several thousand dollar Powerwall system or potentially even a supercar after hawking a Tesla to their friends.

So it seems like an improvement, but we’ll have to wait to see how it all shakes out, and whether Tesla adds other products to the program.

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Toyota’s best-selling car may finally go electric: Here’s our first look at the Corolla EV

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Toyota's best-selling car may finally go electric: Here's our first look at the Corolla EV

A fully electric Corolla? Toyota’s best-selling car of all time looks to be finally going electric after the automaker previewed the Corolla EV for the first time.

Is Toyota’s best-selling car getting an electric version?

Since it first launched over 50 years ago, the Corolla quickly became one of the most popular vehicles in nearly every pocket of the globe.

In the late 90s, it even surpassed the Volkswagen Beetle to become the best-selling car in the world, not just Toyota’s.

After holding the crown for over two decades, the Toyota Corolla finally lost its title to the Tesla Model Y in 2023. Although it’s still a top-seller globally, the Corolla appears to be in line for its biggest update yet.

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Toyota previewed what appears to be a fully electric Corolla for the first time during a live stream event in Japan on Monday. The commercial showed several “never-before-seen cars” that will be unveiled at the Japan Mobility Show later this month.

Toyota-Corolla-EV
Toyota previews the Corolla EV (Source: Toyota)

One of the concepts shown was a new, seemingly electric Corolla. Outside of the big COROLLA logo on the back, you can hardly tell it’s the sedan Toyota currently has on sale today.

The concept features a closed-off grille and an apparent charge port on the front, hinting it is, in fact, electric. It also draws from Toyota’s latest design theme showcased on new EVs like the updated bZ4X and 2026 CH-R Electric.

Toyota-best-selling-car-electric
Toyota previews the Corolla EV (Source: Toyota)

It also looks nearly identical to the bZ3, a BYD-powered electric sedan that Toyota has been selling in China since 2023.

Toyota didn’t reveal any other details about the concept, but said the vehicle will appear at the Japan Mobility Show, which starts on October 30, 2025. Press days open on October 29, so check back soon for more info.

Electrek’s Take

The Corolla may be going electric, but don’t expect Toyota to drop the internal combustion engine (ICE) version anytime soon.

Given that Toyota is still standing by its commitment to offer vehicles across all powertrain options, even if it does launch an electric Corolla, it will likely be sold alongside ICE, plug-in hybrid, and hybrid variants.

Either way, an electric sedan would fit in Toyota’s EV lineup, which will include mostly SUVs like the bZ4X (now just the 2026 bZ in the US), CH-R+, and Urban Cruiser.

Would an electric Toyota Corolla compete with the Tesla Model 3? Let us know what you think in the comments.

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Jetson showcases eVTOL racing concept called the Jetson Air Games [Video]

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Jetson showcases eVTOL racing concept called the Jetson Air Games [Video]

Personal use eVTOL developer Jetson continues to showcase to the public how exciting an aerial eVTOL racing format can be. The company recently showcased a racing format concept it calls the Jetson Air Games, in which four single-rider Jetson ONE eVTOLs raced head-to-head around a series of pylons during the annual UP.Summit. We highly suggest checking out the video footage below.

Jetson is startup founded in 2017 specializing in electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles. By developing smaller eVTOLs, Jetson originally hailed itself as the first competitor to provide commercially available personal aerial vehicles to the public.

And it has.

Last month, Jetson completed its first global customer delivery, which included a Jetson ONE for Oculus founder and tech entrepreneur Palmer Luckey.

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Before any customer deliveries, however, Jetson had been teasing the idea of using its flagship eVTOL product for racing purposes. In December 2024, the company released footage showing Jetson co-founder and CTO Tomasz Patan demonstrating the precision and agility of the Jetson ONE by navigating around an 8-meter (26ft) tall pylon.

According to a concurrent release, the pylon was a new item that Jetson began producing to encourage and support plans for a new league of eVTOL races. As we pointed out at the time, Jetson’s eVTOL racing idea was nothing new. A team called Airspeeder in Australia has been doing it for years with its own unique eVTOLs it calls “Speeders.”

While Airspeeder has completed eVTOL races, it has yet to do so with actual pilots on board. That’s the goal, but it still hasn’t happened yet, which left the door open for Jetson to be the first with its tech.

  • Jetson eVTOL racing
  • Jetson eVTOL racing
  • Jetson eVTOL racing

Jetson previews eVTOL racing format at UP.Summit

Jetson shared details of its latest milestone following a successful “aerial showcase” at UP.Summit 2025 in Bentonville, Arkansas. Using four Jetson ONE eVTOLs, which at one point formed a “first-ever” four-vessel formation flight, the company introduced the future concept of the Jetson Air Games.

According to Jetson, its Air Games is a new competitive eVTOL format racing designed to “redefine personal air mobility through dynamic aerial sports.” After the four-eVTOL formation (seen above), the Jetson ONE pilots completed a speedy race around the pylons, followed by a solo aerial session by who else but Tomasz Patan, who was also involved in both the formation and the ensuing race. Patan spoke:

Flying for such a large and engaged audience was incredibly special. It was a moment of pride for our entire team and a clear signal that Jetson is ready to lead the next chapter in aviation—and in aerial sport.

Jetson said its eVTOL racing showcase drew plenty of positive feedback from the audience, as well as several investment inquiries. According to the company, its Jetson ONE order is approaching units, representing $75 million in future sales.

The Jetson ONE currently costs $128,000, but the company shared plans to increase that starting price to $148,000, beginning November 3, 2025. As promised, here’s video footage of Jetson’s racing showcase below:

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Bigger, badder Section 179 tax credit could POWER UP fleet electrification efforts

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Bigger, badder Section 179 tax credit could POWER UP fleet electrification efforts

After the Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit (Section 45W) expired on September 30, the “experts” rushed out predictions of an EV sales slowdown in Q4. But, with over 6,800 pages in the Internal Revenue Code still in play, a turbocharged Section 179 tax credit could still power a strong Q4 for commercial EVs.

The One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) of 2025 gutted America’s energy independence goals and ensuring its auto industry would fall even further behind the Chinese in the EV race, but the loss of Section 45W wasn’t the only change written into the IRS’ rulebook. Section 179, an immediate expense reduction that business owners can take on depreciable equipment assets, has been made significantly more powerful for 2025.

The section 179 expense deduction is limited to such items as cars, office equipment, business machinery, and computers. This speedy deduction can provide substantial tax relief for business owners who are purchasing startup equipment.

INVESTOPEDIA

The revised Section 179 tax credit (or, more accurately, expense reduction) allows for a 100% deduction for equipment purchases has doubled to $2.5 million, with a phase-out kicking in at $4 million of capital investments that drops to zero at $6.5 million. That credit and can be applied to new and used vehicles, as well as charging infrastructure, battery energy storage systems, specialized tools, and more (as long as they’re new to you).

Work the tax credit


By Mira Norian; via Investopedia.

“But wait,” as they say. “There’s more!” A revised Section 168(k) also allows for bonus depreciation on eligible equipment and property, accelerating depreciation for a reduced tax burden.

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Fleets can take both the bigger Section 179 and 168(k) bonus depreciation allowances, but Section 179 must be applied first, leaving only qualifying purchases over the $2.5 million limit to be taken in bonus depreciation.

It’s a bit convoluted (what good tax code isn’t?), but these tax incentives are great for businesses looking to buy enough electric equipment assets to exceed the Section 179 spending limit – and, given the new Uber/Tesla semi truck purchase plan, the continued growth of the electric terminal tractor market, and the willingness of several utilities to incentivize both electric commercial vehicles and the deployment of smart EV charging infrastructure, that number may be bigger than you think.

Electrek’s Take Disclaimer


Volvo Group collaborates on fossil-free ski resort
L25 Electric wheel loader; by Volvo CE.

Tax law is weird. Not only are there Federal tax laws and rules that need to be followed, but state and even local county and city rules, as well. As such, you want to make sure they don’t get you the way the got Capone.

Even worse, your favorite journalist (Hi!) is probably an idiot. Get a certified accountant and tax law expert to help walk you through the dirtier details of your specific scenario – but don’t let the complexity of human interaction slow you down, either. The really rich guys you know pay pennies on the tax dollar compared to you and me, because they’re not afraid to ask their accountants for help.

The TL;DR version, though, is this: there’s still plenty of incentives out there for fleet operators looking to electrify their operations.

SOURCES | IMAGES: Equipment World, Investopedia, Volvo.


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Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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