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Where a Tesla referral link actually applies at checkout — a 2026 walkthrough

Our how-it-works page gives the three-step version. Here's the screen-by-screen walkthrough for anyone who wants to know precisely where to look.

"Did it actually apply?" is the question we hear most from first-time buyers, and it's a fair one — Tesla's order flow doesn't show a discount code box or a "referral applied" banner the way a lot of retail checkouts do. The benefit shows up as a line item, not a price change, and it's easy to miss if you don't know where to look.

  1. Open the link in a browser tab, not the app

    Tap the ts.la/… link itself, in whatever browser you'll use to order — mobile Safari, Chrome, whatever. Don't route through the Tesla app first; the link needs to load and set your session before anything else happens.

  2. Build your configuration in that same tab

    Pick Model 3, Model Y or Cybertruck, choose trim, color and wheels as normal. Don't switch browsers or open a private/incognito window partway through — that's the single most common way the session gets dropped (see mistake #1 in our mistakes post).

  3. Sign in or create your Tesla Account

    Do this in the same tab you opened the link in. Signing in on a different device or app switches the session Tesla is tracking.

  4. Reach the order-review screen and look for a benefits line

    Scroll past the price breakdown. On a US or Canada order for Model 3/Y/Cybertruck, look for a line referencing the FSD (Supervised) trial — it sits separately from the vehicle price, not folded into it. In the UK, France or Spain the equivalent line references Supercharging credit instead.

  5. Run the three-item checklist before you tap Confirm

    1) Is a benefit line present at all? 2) Does it match what our benefit table says your model qualifies for? 3) Is it still there after you change any option (paint, wheels, FSD purchase)? Only pay once all three check out.

  6. After ordering, check your account and email

    Your Tesla Account's order page and the confirmation email should both reference the referral. If either is silent on it, that's your cue to contact Tesla support before delivery, not after.

What the confirmation line actually looks like

It is not a strikethrough price or a "-$300" deduction. In the US and Canada it reads roughly as a note that FSD (Supervised) is included for a trial period at no charge, sitting under the vehicle price rather than subtracted from it — because the benefit is a software trial, not a cash discount (we cover why that distinction matters in does a referral link change the price?). In the UK, France and Spain, the equivalent line references Supercharging credit instead of FSD, since the program's buyer benefit differs by market.

If the line is missing

Before assuming the link failed, check the order summary again after changing any configuration option — some buyers see the benefit line disappear and reappear as they add or remove FSD purchase or switch trims, since the screen re-renders. If it's genuinely absent once your build is final, reopen the referral link fresh and restart the configuration rather than trying to add it retroactively; Tesla's flow does not support attaching a referral after an order is placed.

Session pitfalls that break the chain

Three things reliably drop the referral session before you reach checkout: opening the link on your phone but finishing the order on a laptop in a different browser profile; switching into private or incognito mode partway through (which clears the cookies the session relies on); and closing the tab entirely and returning later via a bookmark instead of the original link. If any of these happen, reopening the referral link is the fix — it costs you nothing to restart the sequence.

Solar orders follow the same shape, on a separate order

If you're also ordering Solar Panels or a Solar Roof, that's a second, separate transaction — the $400 solar credit shows up on the solar order's own review screen, not folded into a vehicle order. Open a referral link for that order too; one referral applies per transaction, so a vehicle order and a solar order each need their own confirmed pass through this checklist.

Owner-verified · 13 July 2026 Your Tesla referral link
ts.la/steven787345
Open at Tesla

Real owner link, applied automatically in your Tesla order summary. No signup, no cost to you. How we verify ›

The referral relationship is disclosed in full on our disclosure page; every outbound referral link on this site is rel="nofollow sponsored", and the buyer never pays anything extra.

Related reading: referral link vs referral code, or the full verification method behind every link in our pool.

Primary sources: Tesla Support — Refer and Earn, Electrek — referral-program guide, Not a Tesla App — FSD incentive update. Program details verified 13 July 2026.