Polestar Launches Referral Program, But Don’t Expect a Free Car – CNET

A referral program can be a great way for a new brand to get some extra eyes on its products, based on word-of-mouth recommendations from early adopters who enjoy their purchase. Polestar is hoping a program like this will turn some more heads in its direction.

Polestar this week announced that it has launched a referral program. The former Volvo sub-brand’s program will be in effect for owners in South Korea and the US, in addition to a large chunk of Europe.

Current owners are able to create a referral code from their Polestar account, and that will be linked to new orders if they were referred to the automaker, earning the original customer some neat items. Once the order is processed, the perks begin to flow. In the US, this includes a Google-branded bundle comprising a Google Nest Hub and Nest Mini. In Korea and Europe, referrals will earn the original buyer a 100-euro equivalent credit for local public charging. The coolest possible gift, though, is a unique sketch, hand drawn by Polestar’s own designers.

According to Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath in a press release, the automaker could have offered an NFT, but it made the choice not to: “[W]e could easily take the popular NFT route and make bespoke digital artworks, but will wait until there is a real, environmentally friendly benefit to using NFTs. Given their questionable sustainability credentials and our desire to make each sketch something tangible that might be mounted in a special place, we intend to deliver real sketches instead.”

Polestar is part of a limited subset of automakers offering referral benefits. Perhaps the most widely known referral program came from Tesla. Perks ranged from free Supercharging, to launching a photo into space, to a free Roadster 2.0 that will be built… eventually. Tesla’s automotive referral program was shut down once again in 2021 after popping in and out of existence over the last several years. Its solar products still have one, but the sole perk is a $300 check for each referral.

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