Tesla is going to send your photo into space. The company announced an update to its referral scheme on Friday that will enable users to hand over an image for laser etching onto glass, before launching into space for aliens to discover — a big opportunity for a crossover with SpaceX.
The new referral scheme starts October 5 and runs til December 10. The new terms claim that, when buyers of a Tesla get someone else to use their referral code once, “we’ll laser-etch any image onto glass and send it into deep space orbit for millions of years. Refer more friends while you wait for an alien race to discover your payload.” Tesla will request the image in December 2018. Musk also reassured fans on Twitter that they can choose any image they like, even memes like Dick Butt. It’s a rather fitting choice for the laser-etching mission: the meme stems from a webcomic about a man appreciating the finite resources of paper, only to waste a page on drawing the bizarre character.
See more: Elon Musk Details What the “SpaceX” Option Does for the Tesla Roadster
While the company has provided few extra details, it’s likely that the scheme will take advantage of CEO Elon Musk’s space-faring venture, SpaceX. It wouldn’t be the first time, as SpaceX sent up Musk’s Roadster on the Falcon Heavy test flight in February and the second-generation Roadster is set to include a SpaceX options package when it launches in 2020. The company did not comment on Inverse’s query about whether Tesla was using SpaceX to send up the etchings.
The scheme also enables buyers to give up to five people $100 in supercharger credit, the global network of high-speed Tesla chargers. Two qualifying referrals earns the buyer either a Signature Black Wall Connector or a Founders Series Tesla Model S for Kids. Three referrals earns 21” Arachnid Wheels for Model S, 22” Turbine Wheels for Model X, or one week with Model S or Model X. Four referrals grants priority access to software updates, while five referrals earns an invite to a Tesla unveiling event.
Expect more details about Tesla’s etching plans closer to the scheduled photo handover date in December.
