Tesla owner Lily Fetterer shared her story of how she began racing her Model 3. It was a chilly September Sunday morning in San Francisco when I met with Lily to explore the city in her silver Tesla Model 3. Lily, a member of the Tesla Owners Club of East Bay, had kindly offered to give me a tour of the city, including a few places to look out over the bay.
Credit: Johnna Crider/Teslarati
The morning fog showed up to join us for most of the day, and as I climbed hills and mountains, well, they seemed like mountains to me, I got to know Lily. One of the first things I noticed about her Model 3 was that it had TeslaCorsa 24 emblazoned on both the driver’s and passenger’s side doors.
TeslaCorsa was founded to encourage Tesla owners to experience the limits of their cars in a professionally managed race track environment. Lily is a race car driver who shared her story with me.
I asked her how she got into racing and how long she’d been racing. Lily and her family are fans of Tesla and already owned a Model X.
“The plan was to get the Model 3 as soon as it came out, and that’s exactly what we did. We got it about two months after it came out, and they said they were planning on making a Model 3 that you could race.”
The Model 3 Performance was a couple of years down the line, and Lily decided to make her purchase.
“I got my Model 3, and one day, because of Covid, I was just browsing the web and trying to find things I could do with my Tesla, and I found TeslaCorsa.”
Lily explained that TeslaCorsa is sponsored by Unplugged Performance which had already had nine events before Lily joined.
“I joined for the 10th event, which was at Laguna Seca. They told me if I could do that course in two minutes and then I have some talent that might be worth pursuing. I got two minutes and four seconds, which was close enough. And so, I’ve been racing since.”
Lily started racing after taking delivery of her Tesla Model 3. As a woman who races in an EV, Lily told me it was a bit intimidating initially.
“It was kind of intimidating. I was the only woman at the track. At the first Laguna Seca, another girl was also trying it out with her boyfriend. I think the nice thing is that there are some people who don’t take it seriously,”
There are people who saw her as a woman and treated her as such, but Lily pointed out that there were people who wanted to help her succeed.
“There’s a guy, Tom Mack, who is one of the best TeslaCorsa racers, and he’s been my mentor throughout the process. He’s always showing me videos, giving me feedback, riding with me, and trying to tell me how I can be better.”
Credit: Johnna Crider/Teslarati
Around the same time Lily began racing, she got involved with the Tesla Owners Club of East Bay.
“I absolutely love the club. I think they do so many wonderful activities,” she told me. Lily noted that there are a lot of great Tesla clubs in the area but what she likes most about the East Bay club is that they have a lot of family-friendly events.
“We did a cruise to the top of Mount Diablo recently. They have a lot of fundraisers as well. I think that’s the thing I love the most. They give back to the community. It’s not just about getting people together and having fun, but it’s about giving back. At almost every event, there’s a donation aspect.”
“The frunk or treat is coming, and I plan to win that competition. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I love Nightmare Before Christmas. I’m a huge addict, so I do my house like that, and I’m also going to be doing my frunk like that. At frunk or treat, we ask people to donate and bring groceries for less fortunate people. And it’s going to be held at a winery. So the kids will have frunk or treat, and the parents will have the wine.”
Credit: Johnna Crider/Teslarati
I asked Lily to share her advice for any women and girls who may want to get into racing.
“Don’t be afraid. I think people just feel that it’s different than driving on a freeway, and it’s true. You’ve got tight turns, corners, and walls. But it’s something that anyone can do. I would say that it’s exhilarating if you like skiing or any speed type of activity. I just recommend that people give it a try. I think that when more people give it a try, they’ll find themselves hooked.”
Disclosure: Johnna is a $TSLA shareholder and believes in Tesla’s mission.
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