The exact moment a UK referral link stops working on your order
Every referral guide says "use the link first". Very few say when "first" stops. The cutoff is a specific point in the order flow, and pinning it down is the difference between a benefit you have and one you have read about.
The flow, with the cutoff marked
- Open the referral link. This tags the ordering session. Nothing visible happens, which is why people doubt it worked.
- Configure the car — trim, paint, wheels, interior. The tag persists through this in the same session.
- Reach the order summary. This is the screen with the price breakdown, before payment, and it is where the benefit line appears on an eligible order. This is the last moment the information is actionable.
- Confirm and pay. ← The cutoff. Once an order exists, the referral can no longer be attached — not by you, not by support, not by the person whose code it is.
What the cutoff means in practice
That the only check worth doing happens at step three, and it takes five seconds: look for the benefit line — for a UK Model 3 or Model Y, roughly 650 free Supercharging miles. If it is absent, close the flow, reopen the referral link, and configure again. Losing fifteen minutes of configuration is the cheapest possible version of this mistake.
The three ways people cross the cutoff by accident
Tabs. The order that gets placed is the one in the tab you finish in. If you opened the referral link, then wandered off to compare configurations, then came back through a search result, the finishing session may carry no referral at all.
Devices. Opening the link on a phone and ordering on a laptop is two separate sessions. Use one device for both.
Interruptions. Trade-in valuations and finance pre-approvals both send you out of the flow and back in. Gather those inputs before you open the referral link, not during.
What does not affect the cutoff
- Editing an existing order. Changing colour or wheels on an order you already placed is an edit, not a new order — the referral rides along. What matters is whether the order number survives.
- A slipped delivery date. Nothing to redo; the attachment is already made.
- How long the referral stays pending afterwards. Grants follow settlement, and every expiry clock starts at the Grant Date rather than the order date.
Where the cutoff bites hardest
Inventory cars. They are ordered from a listing rather than a configurator, so the flow is shorter and faster — and it is easy to jump into a listing from a search result with nothing attached. If you intend to use a referral on inventory stock, open the link before you start browsing, not after you have found the car you want.
And where it does not apply at all
Used purchases and orders placed by a third party. A private sale involves no Tesla order; Tesla-sold used stock is a used transaction rather than a new order; and a lease or company-car order placed by a leasing company attaches to their order or to nothing. In that last case the question to ask, before signing, is whose account submits the order.
The one-sentence version
The cutoff is the confirm-and-pay button, and the order summary immediately before it is the only place the benefit is ever visible — so read that screen, every time, before you press the button. Next: the pre-order checks that actually prove something.
Pillar: What you get · Related: Verifying a UK referral code before the order screen
Your UK Tesla referral code
steven787345
Click Open at Tesla first, then configure your car — the benefit is applied automatically before you pay.