18 years ago I was listening to a podcast where they mentioned an all-electric sports car called the Roadster. It was made by a new startup named Tesla. I was immediately fascinated. 10 years later I became that company's top referrer, winning 2 future next-gen Roadsters worth $500,000. Here's the story 👇 Tesla has a referral program where owners can share their unique referral link with others. If an order happens then both people get perks (like free Supercharger miles) However, past versions of the referral program also gave the referrer a chance to win even more incredible rewards (like actual free vehicles) 2008: I first discover Tesla by listening to a podcast from @leolaporte and @jason where they mentioned an electric sports car called the Roadster. I searched it on Google and was immediately impressed by the car and company. 2012: The Tesla Model S is released. I was enthralled by the tech in the car, but it was way out of my price range since I was just a broke kid right out of college. It never crossed my mind that I’d ever own one. 2014: I make a promise to myself that I will become a Tesla owner someday so I start saving money. This was mainly inspired by two things: “What it’s like to own a Tesla Model S” cartoon by @Oatmeal (theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla_…) @MKBHD's Tesla Model S videos on YouTube 2016: I publish my very first Tesla video of me traveling hundreds of miles to Cincinnati to reserve a Model 3 which hadn’t even been unveiled yet and wouldn’t come for another 2 years. (youtu.be/Gnp_nTIbjWo) 2017: I create a video for Tesla Project Loveday contest. Since I was Tesla-less I had to camp at my local Supercharger and wait for a stranger with a Tesla to show up. A Model X owner named Marshal kindly let me film his car. It sparked my love for filming Tesla videos. (youtu.be/16yoUARpQCE) Feb 28, 2018: After almost 2 years of waiting, there were still no Model 3s near me to test drive. I traveled to Chicago and spent $300 to rent a Model 3 for a day. It was my 1st time driving a Tesla, and I immediately fell in love with the car. (youtu.be/rin816IHnbQ) Apr 22, 2018: At this point I was slowly losing my mind waiting for my Model 3, checking the Tesla subreddit daily. So I did the most reasonable thing I could think of: I made a Tesla rap video. (youtu.be/ou_gXnE3VPk) Apr 30, 2018: I finally get my Model 3 after 2 years of waiting. It was worth the wait. I immediately start documenting my experience for my full review. However, at this time Model 3 owners like myself did not have a referral code. Tesla only gave them to Model S/X owners. May 11, 2018: Tesla enables referral codes for Model 3 owners. But the referral code was only be eligible for Model S/X purchases, not Model 3. So my referral code was basically useless to me since most of my audience would be interested in Model 3. Jun 24, 2018: I upload my Tesla Model 3 review video to YouTube which quickly starts getting thousands of views. However, I never mentioned my referral link in my video. Instead, I just listed it in the video description. It starts getting clicks. (youtu.be/47OFb8786ko) Aug 1, 2018: Tesla allows referral codes to be applied to Performance Model 3 orders, but I'm unaware this happened at the time. A month later, I upload “True Cost of Model 3” which becomes one of my most popular Tesla videos. (youtu.be/x0MjZOR89Fk) Sep 29, 2018: I pick up @Uber & @Lyft passengers in my Model 3 to get their reactions. The video ends up going viral after @elonmusk liked it on Twitter. A few days later @Tesla tweets my video from their official account. (xitter.cf/tesla/status/105045280…) That week I log into my Tesla account and see names listed under my “Referrals”. Back then one of the prizes was to attend a future Tesla event, and I was so excited that I had enough (5 referrals) to do that. The big catch: Tesla's referral program also had “Secret Levels” that offered a 100% discount on a future next-gen Roadster, which required 55 referrals to unlock. The kicker? You could earn up to two Roadsters! Oct 19, 2018: Tesla finally makes any vehicle order eligible for referrals, including Model 3. This was a turning point. I started mentioning my referral code in my Tesla videos from then on out. My moonshot goal was to earn one Roadster before the program was set to end on Dec 10. Nov 11, 2018: I publish “Model 3 Buyers Guide” where I explained the experience to viewers while driving my Model 3. At the time of that video I had 22 referrals. I needed to average 1+ referrals per day in order to hit 55 referrals to earn a Roadster. (youtu.be/gM_x5DKAfzk) Here’s where it got crazy. During this time, Tesla made their biggest sales push for the Model 3 by sending out emails urging people to order by the end of November to lock in the full tax credit. This made for the perfect storm which absolutely skyrocketed my referrals. Nov 16, 2018: I hit 55 referrals to earn my first $250,000 Founders Series Roadster. I couldn't believe it, and I certainly did not expect it to continue especially since there was only about 3 weeks left until the program was set to end. (xitter.cf/slye/status/1064989153…) By the end of November I was getting multiple referrals a day, and it was around this time when I surpassed 105 referrals which was the amount needed to win a 2nd Roadster. I achieved my moonshot goal. But the referrals kept pouring in, all as a result from my YouTube videos. On Dec 4, 2018 I became the world's top Tesla referrer with over 200 referrals. Tesla ended their referral program soon after that, but they brought it back in 2019 with some revised rules. (xitter.cf/slye/status/1070098952…) How that all unfolded is still crazy to me because I didn't start making Tesla videos thinking "Hey, maybe this will get me two free Roadster." I was just super excited about getting a tech-focused electric car and sharing my experience with others. And the funny thing is: the original Roadster was the car that got me interested in Tesla in the first place. Now it's finally time to see the actual real next-gen Roadster on October 1. The original specs were: • 0-60 in 1.9 seconds • 250+ mph • 620 miles of range • 4 seats • Removable glass roof But now it's (somewhat) obvious that there will be a cyber-themed high performance option that uses cold-gas thrusters developed with @SpaceX rocket technology. And if Tesla actually delivers these cars, October 1st could be the beginning of the final chapter of a story that started nearly 20 years ago for me. I'm excited to say the least! What are you expecting?