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If that's really the reason, that's the most idiotic reason possible. So he "earned" a couple of Roadsters by spamming his referral code, and it turns out his f

If that's really the reason, that's the most idiotic reason possible. So he "earned" a couple of Roadsters by spamming his referral code, and it turns out his free cars might be a decade late, and maybe not as awesome as promised? Booo hooooo

NewLogic 10mo ago
It's called fraud, the editor was a victim of fraud. At least he clued on late I guess..
- fastball 10mo ago
  There was no guarantee of Roadster delivery date.
- simondotau 10mo ago
  Is it fraud if he paid $0 for non-existent roadsters? Referral credits are legal fictions, much like how Tesla Roadsters are physical fictions. Trading one fiction for another isn’t fraud, it’s cosplay.
  - gruez 10mo ago
    >Is it fraud if he paid $0 for non-existent roadsters? Is it fraud if you worked for a startup that promised you options, and then refused to honor/issue those said options? After all, because those options never existed, you also "paid $0 for non-existent [options]"?
  - Dylan16807 10mo ago
    > Leveraging an existing monetised readership for referral credits isn’t “work”. > Is it fraud if he paid $0 for non-existent roadsters? How do you think readership gets monetised in the first place? The biggest way is ads, which includes referrals. Do you dismiss paid ad placement the same way you dismiss referrals? If not, what makes it different? > Referral credits are legal fictions A promise for $100 of stuff isn't exactly the same as a promise for $100, but it's close. Debt is a "legal fiction" but that doesn't mean it's not legitimate, or that you can pretend it doesn't exist.
    - simondotau 10mo ago
      > Do you dismiss paid ad placement the same way you dismiss referrals? If not, what makes it different? The contract
      - Dylan16807 10mo ago
        Referrals usually have a contract. I don't know what went wrong in this situation, but in general those systems are just as legally binding.
malfist 10mo ago
> booo hoooo If your employer said they'd pay you half a million if you worked for them, and then you did and they didn't pay you, I doubt you'd be dismissing it so frivolously
- simondotau 10mo ago
  Okay but that’s not remotely analogous. Leveraging an existing monetised readership for referral credits isn’t “work”.
  - malfist 10mo ago
    Then what is it?
  - ImPostingOnHN 10mo ago
    > Leveraging an existing monetised readership for referral credits isn’t “work”. it is literally a situation in which a business pays someone for doing a job (e.g. referring customers) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referral_economy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referral_economy
  - p_j_w 10mo ago
    1. What is it then? 2. If it’s not hard work, then why didn’t Tesla go out and do it themselves instead of mooching off someone else to do it?

NewLogic 10mo ago

It's called fraud, the editor was a victim of fraud. At least he clued on late I guess..

fastball 10mo ago
There was no guarantee of Roadster delivery date.
simondotau 10mo ago
Is it fraud if he paid $0 for non-existent roadsters? Referral credits are legal fictions, much like how Tesla Roadsters are physical fictions. Trading one fiction for another isn’t fraud, it’s cosplay.
- gruez 10mo ago
  >Is it fraud if he paid $0 for non-existent roadsters? Is it fraud if you worked for a startup that promised you options, and then refused to honor/issue those said options? After all, because those options never existed, you also "paid $0 for non-existent [options]"?
- Dylan16807 10mo ago
  > Leveraging an existing monetised readership for referral credits isn’t “work”. > Is it fraud if he paid $0 for non-existent roadsters? How do you think readership gets monetised in the first place? The biggest way is ads, which includes referrals. Do you dismiss paid ad placement the same way you dismiss referrals? If not, what makes it different? > Referral credits are legal fictions A promise for $100 of stuff isn't exactly the same as a promise for $100, but it's close. Debt is a "legal fiction" but that doesn't mean it's not legitimate, or that you can pretend it doesn't exist.
  - simondotau 10mo ago
    > Do you dismiss paid ad placement the same way you dismiss referrals? If not, what makes it different? The contract
    - Dylan16807 10mo ago
      Referrals usually have a contract. I don't know what went wrong in this situation, but in general those systems are just as legally binding.

malfist 10mo ago

> booo hoooo If your employer said they'd pay you half a million if you worked for them, and then you did and they didn't pay you, I doubt you'd be dismissing it so frivolously

simondotau 10mo ago
Okay but that’s not remotely analogous. Leveraging an existing monetised readership for referral credits isn’t “work”.
- malfist 10mo ago
  Then what is it?
- ImPostingOnHN 10mo ago
  > Leveraging an existing monetised readership for referral credits isn’t “work”. it is literally a situation in which a business pays someone for doing a job (e.g. referring customers) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referral_economy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referral_economy
- p_j_w 10mo ago
  1. What is it then? 2. If it’s not hard work, then why didn’t Tesla go out and do it themselves instead of mooching off someone else to do it?