Sep. 21st 2018 6:44 pm

In order to help move cars during its end of the quarter delivery rush, Tesla is bringing back free Supercharging to inventory cars and Model 3 vehicles until the end of the month, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Tesla has apparently made a lot of inventory cars unmatched to custom orders that the automaker is now trying to move by the end of the quarter.

As we reported earlier this week, Tesla ended the free unlimited Supercharger access with the referral program – something the automaker has been wanting to do for over a year.

The next day, CEO Elon Musk announced that he was extending it to September 18 because some owners were reportedly experiencing problems with the referral links.

At the time, Musk tweeted that the referral program incentive is “not coming back” before removing the tweet:

Now a source familiar with the matter told Electrek that Tesla informed its sales staff that a referral code can still give free Supercharging to buyers of inventory Model S and Model X vehicles, as well as Model 3 Performance vehicles, until the end of the month, which coincides with the end of the quarter.

The same source also says that Tesla salespeople are authorized to offer a 1 year of free Supercharging to people buying non-performance Model 3 inventory vehicles if they buy with a referral code and take delivery by the end of the month.

The source says that Tesla made large inventories of those vehicles that are currently unmatched with custom orders, which is the main way for Tesla buyers to get vehicles.

It’s not unlike the big Model 3 delivery event that Tesla held earlier this month, where the automaker invited Model 3 buyers to try to get same day deliveries with inventory vehicles instead of waiting for a custom order.

Now it looks like Tesla is bringing back the referral program incentive to facilitate the sales.

The automaker is also now including regular Model 3 vehicles as part of its employee incentive program for the last week of the quarter. Until now, only Model S, Model X, and Model 3 Performance vehicles were included, as we previously reported.

Tesla stores are also now all cleared to sell all their vehicles, including showroom display models.

We contacted Tesla about this report and we will update if we get a comment.

The automaker is currently trying to achieve record production and delivery numbers in an attempt to become profitable this quarter.

Electrek’s Take

In other words, Tesla is in full end-of-the-quarter boost mode right now. Some of the moves are unprecedented, like incentivizing employees to sell Model 3.

Others have already been used in previous end-of-quarter rushes.

What I find most interesting is that Tesla is now also making inventory Model 3 vehicles that it is trying to push at the end of the quarter.

While it doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s a demand issue, Tesla certainly seems to prioritize making the vehicle in batches and trying to match orders for quicker deliveries.

It’s going to be an interesting few days.

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