Tesla owners across Canada are starting to find out they can actually make some money back just by plugging in their cars at home. A new platform called WattsApp has been making waves lately, offering a rewards system that basically turns your home charging sessions into cash or gift cards.
The Toronto team behind the app recently hopped onto Reddit to get people to “stress test” their system. The response was so big that they had to move their schedule up, with the beta now set to close this Sunday, February 22. According to a report from Tesla North, the founders were a bit surprised by how fast the community jumped on the offer.
WattsApp says it is a Canadian company and a registered Charging Network Operator under the federal Clean Fuel Regulations program.
It works by connecting your Tesla account to the app using official APIs. If you have a Gen 3 Wall Connector or the newer Universal Wall Connector, the app tracks how much power you’re using. You earn 3 points for every kilowatt-hour you pump into your car. To put that in perspective, every 100 points equals a dollar. It might not make you rich overnight, but for people who drive a lot, it adds up to hundreds of dollars a year that can cover the cost of the electricity itself.
Once you hit specific milestones, you can trade in your points for rewards like a $250 gift card at 25,000 points, $500 in cash via e-transfer at 50,000 points, or even a brand-new Tesla Wall Connector once you reach the 70,000-point mark.
In future rollouts, WattsApp says any internet-connected charger will qualify.
The founders explained that they can do this because of Canada’s Clean Fuel Regulations. Basically, individual drivers can’t earn carbon credits on their own, so WattsApp acts as the middleman. They bundle all that charging data together, get it verified, and then sell the credits on the market. They take a cut to keep the lights on and give the rest back to the drivers in the form of e-transfers or gift cards.
One big thing the team pointed out is that they aren’t selling your personal info or using it for ads. The data is strictly for the government reporting required to get those credits. If you missed out on the beta, don’t worry, as the team plans to move into the next phase soon, though they mentioned the referral bonuses might not be as high as they are right now.
Click here to sign up for WattsApp before the early private beta closes this Sunday.
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If this grows enough to compete with solar and wind energy credits, the government will have to adjust its calculations. I doubt regulators anticipated consumers selling carbon offset credits, so this could skew results.
That said, I think this is a brilliant idea. Everyone should get to participate.