It’s abundantly clear by now that Tesla is a pretty singular company. From developing a Lamborghini-spanking electric SUV, to taking Model 3 deposits for a car that hasn’t been even been built yet, to introducing vehicle features based off Twitter suggestions, Tesla marches to the beat of its own drum. Or rather, Elon Musk’s.
And this latest bit of news via Teslarati about the company’s famous referral program, where customers receive special rewards and incentives based on how many friends they can bring into the fold, hammers that home even further: Convince enough buddies to buy a Tesla, and you can drive one of The Boring Company’s fancy electric tunnel-boring machines.
Specifically, the screenshots sent to Teslarati read: “You’ve unlocked the second secret level. Share your referral code to give 5 more of your friends free unlimited Supercharging and $1,000 off a new Model S or Model X. Once all 5 take delivery, we’ll give you the opportunity to drive an electric tunnel boring machine with The Boring Company in Hawthorne, CA.”
Yes, you read that correctly. Get enough people to buy a $80,000 electric performance car, and you’ll have a chance to climb behind the wheel (is there a wheel?) of a giant, hulking, multi-ton piece of construction equipment nicknamed “Godot.” The machine is currently sitting about fifteen feet below the parking lot at Tesla’s office in Hawthorne, California, where it’s been crawling through a test trench Musk & Co. dug earlier this year.
It’s the first piece of the puzzle as Musk endeavors to build a network of underground, multi-purpose transportation tunnels to ease traffic congestion on the surface. While his plans have been met with varying levels of skepticism and incredulity from public officials, Musk told Gizmodo that the tunnel-boring reward for Tesla owners is absolutely real, adding “I’ve been down there on the machine and it’s mind-blowing.”
Probably not as mind-blowing as a Tesla Model S P100D in Ludicrous Mode, but it does sound like a pretty cool experience for a lucky few Tesla owners. And there are probably more in the pipeline: the notification shared with Teslarati ends by promising “more amazing adventures that money can’t buy” for continued referrals.