Tesla referral eco bonus
“Up to €500 plus the eco bonus”: what to verify before believing it (April 2026)
A €500 figure recirculated for the French Tesla referral in early April 2026. We check the source, restate the real amount, and confirm the 2026 bonus écologique scale.
The figure that resurfaced
In early April 2026, several outlets (including parrainage.co) repeated a "up to €500" figure for the French Tesla referral, sometimes presented as stacking with the eco bonus. Before running any maths on that basis, here's what's actually true in 2026.
The real referral amount, no rounding
On Model 3 and Model Y, the buyer chooses between 2000 km of free Supercharging or €250 off — never both together. The "€500" figure likely traces back to a rounded-up number or a leftover reference to the old Model S/Model X program (removed mars 2026) — don't carry it over to Model 3 or Model Y.
The bonus écologique scale, confirmed for April 2026
| Reference tax income | Bonus écologique |
|---|---|
| Below €16,301 | €5700 |
| €16,301 – €26,300 | €4700 |
| Above that | €3500 |
On top of that, an optional European-battery surbonus of €1200 to €2000 may apply, conditional on: a new vehicle under €47000, under 2400 kg, and an ADEME eco-score between 60 and 80/80. Cross-checked against Tesla-Mag, this scale was unchanged as of our April 2026 check.
Why the stack works on Model Y, not on Model 3
The Model Y (RWD / Long Range RWD, built in Berlin) remains the only Tesla that is both referral-eligible and eco-bonus eligible. The Model 3, built in Shanghai, fails the ADEME eco-score: the referral still applies, but no State aid stacks on top.
What a confirmed scale does and does not guarantee
"Confirmed" is doing a lot of work in headlines about aid schemes, so it is worth separating what a published scale settles from what it leaves open. A confirmed scale tells you the amounts and the bands. It is not a statement that you will receive one of them.
Three things still stand between a published figure and money reaching your purchase, and they fail independently:
- Your vehicle's eligibility — the version has to qualify on the criteria in force when you order, and those lists are republished periodically rather than fixed for the year.
- Your household's band — the amount is set by your own tax position, not by the headline maximum. The top figure in any scale belongs to a specific set of households, and most readers are not in it.
- The scheme's budget and timing — a scale can be confirmed while the funding behind it is finite, so being eligible and being paid are different questions.
Which is why we treat a confirmed scale as an input to a calculation rather than as an outcome. The honest reading of any "confirmed at €X" headline is: that is the ceiling for someone, on a version that qualifies, while funds remain.
The one line on this page that is not conditional
Worth pointing out by contrast, because it is unusual on a page full of qualifications. The referral benefit has none of those three dependencies: no eligibility list, no income band, no budget that can run out. It is the same for every buyer of a qualifying model on any day of the year.
That is not an argument that it matters more — it is much the smallest figure here, and the public aid is worth multiples of it when it applies. It is an argument about certainty: the aid is a larger number with three ways to reach zero, and the referral is a small number with none. Plan the large one carefully and treat the small one as a ten-second step you simply do not skip.
How to read an "up to €500" claim without getting it wrong
Whenever a referral figure for Model 3/Y goes above €250, ask for the source and the date. Our worked example breaks down, line by line, how the bonus and the referral genuinely add up on a Model Y.
Your Tesla Referral Code
2,000 km or €250, click before ordering.
Open Tesla with the link →Program verified on
Copy link copies the whole URL: Tesla has no code field, so opening the link is what pre-applies the benefit. Always confirm it shows before you pay.