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.
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, sponsored by Unplugged Performance, 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. The 2018 model 3 RWD long range is the car that I race in.”
“I tried to find new hobbies to pursue that would be safe given Covid restrictions. I love driving fast in my Tesla, so I was ecstatic when I found TeslaCorsa while browsing the web.”
“I joined for the 10th TeslaCorsa event at Laguna Seca. They told me that if I could do that course in two minutes, I might have some talent that would be worth pursuing. I got two minutes and four seconds, which was close enough. I’ve been racing ever since.”
Lily told me it was a bit intimidating as a middle-aged woman who races in an EV.
“I am often the only female racing. At my first Tesla Corsa event, another female was also trying it out for the first time with her boyfriend. At other events, racers have had their parents participate too. I love how it’s an experience that people want to share with others. Racing is something that many can enjoy, not just hard-core racers.”
Lily pointed out that a big reason for her success is the great support she gets from other racers.
“Tom Mak, one of the best TeslaCorsa racers, has been my mentor throughout the process. He’s always showing me videos, giving me feedback, riding with me, and encouraging me to be better.” Steven Case has also driven with me and driven my car, so I can understand how to push my car to its limits”
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 Tesla Owners Club of East Bay frunk or treat event is coming, and I hope to win that competition. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I love The Nightmare Before Christmas. I’m a huge addict, so my house and my frunk will be decked out with that theme. The frunk or treat will be at Ehrenberg cellars in Livermore so the kids will have candy, and the parents will have wine. “
“There’s also an upcoming TOEB event on November 18th where club members will help us change our cabin air filters, and in exchange for the help, we bring a bag of groceries to donate for less fortunate people. “
I asked Lily to share her advice for any women and girls who may want to get into racing.
“Don’t be afraid to give it a try. It’s different than driving on a freeway because you have tight turns, corners, and walls. Not all tracks are the same, so you can work your way up to trying more difficult tracks later. Racing is exhilarating, and if you like skiing or any speed activity, you’ll probably enjoy it too. I think that when people give it a try, they’ll find themselves hooked.”
Disclosure: Johnna is a $TSLA shareholder and believes in Tesla’s mission.
Your feedback is essential. If you have any comments or concerns or see a typo, you can email me at johnna@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter at @JohnnaCrider1.
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Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile are trying to shut Starlink out before FCC vote
AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile want 290 MHz cut from an FCC satellite plan before Thursday.
AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are asking the Federal Communications Commission to pull nearly 300 MHz of spectrum out of a proposal that would let satellite companies like SpaceX offer cell service directly to ordinary phones. The request lands one day before the agency votes on it.
The FCC will vote Thursday, October 29, on a notice of proposed rulemaking that would make an additional 482 MHz available for direct to device service, expanding the number of eligible bands from five to 13, according to the FCC fact sheet. It would also scrap the rule requiring a satellite operator to lease spectrum from carriers, replacing it with a certification that the operator has coexistence agreements in place or holds the terrestrial license itself.
That second path matters for SpaceX. As Teslarati reported earlier this month, SpaceX agreed to buy Grain Management’s nationwide 800 MHz portfolio to turn Starlink Mobile into a full US carrier, adding to the spectrum it already bought from EchoStar.
The carriers want two bands removed, 2.5 GHz and 3.45 GHz, which make up 290 MHz of the 482 MHz on the table. Through industry group CTIA, they argued that about 300 million users depend on those bands and that satellite operations in them are not technically feasible. T-Mobile, which calls 2.5 GHz the foundation of its Ultra Capacity 5G network, said in its own filing that satellite interference could wipe out up to 96% of a cell site’s uplink coverage area and cut uplink speeds by 88% to 99%.
Executives from all three carriers met with FCC staff on October 20, and T-Mobile CEO Srini Gopalan met separately with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. T-Mobile’s role stands out because it is still SpaceX’s US launch partner for Starlink Mobile. The three carriers have also teamed up on their own satellite joint venture to pool spectrum, a move widely seen as a response to Starlink.
SpaceX is asking for the opposite. In an October 23 filing after meetings with FCC staff and commissioners’ offices, the company asked regulators to add the 902 to 928 MHz band to the proposal. “Doing so now saves time later,” SpaceX wrote. The company also asked the FCC to modernize interference rules and align satellite deployment requirements with those for terrestrial cell networks, saying the goal is to let satellite and ground networks work together so Americans stay connected wherever they are.
The carriers have not been shy about how they view SpaceX as a competitor. On Verizon’s third quarter earnings call Monday, its chief executive said Starlink Mobile “just can’t compete with a terrestrial network” and estimated SpaceX would need four to six years and $300 billion to $500 billion to build a full US carrier network.
Thursday’s vote will not settle which bands survive. Adopting the notice opens a public comment period, with final rules to come later in the proceeding. The FCC already considered and rejected 2.5 GHz for satellite coverage once, in 2024. SpaceX also is not the only satellite player watching: the FCC approved Amazon’s $11.6 billion acquisition of Globalstar on October 27, giving its planned direct to device fleet its own mobile satellite spectrum.
A Tesla Semi caught fire in Hayward, California, which caused both directions of traffic to shut down for hours before being completely reopened early on Wednesday, the California Highway Patrol said.
The fire occurred just after 5:30 local time in Hayward on Tuesday, as the Semi caught fire in the southbound lanes of I-880 before CHP officials made the decision to shut down both lanes of traffic due to potential risks from hazardous chemical smoke.
There were no injuries reported.
🚨 A Tesla Semi reportedly caught fire, with California Highway Patrol confirming. The Semi was on I-880 SB
An estimated 5,000 to 7,000 semi-truck and large commercial vehicle fires occur on U.S. roadways every year
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 28, 2026
The cause of the fire is currently unknown, as neither Tesla nor the CHP have not determined a cause.
However, some images taken before the Semi was completely destroyed by the fire seem to indicate this might have been an older unit, as it appears to be one of the designs that Tesla shipped as part of its pilot program, before revising it and starting mass production just a month ago.
@Tslachan From on of the videos looks like it’s an old Semi (not the refresh version that recently started production) https://t.co/KzwmR2kXow
— Area Under The Curve 🎗️ (@AreaUnderCurve) October 28, 2026
At the time of publication, CHP had not returned our request for a comment for additional details, including the Semi involved and any potential collaboration on an investigation between the CHP and Tesla. We will update this story when we hear back from them.
The southbound lanes were reopened at 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday, with the northbound lanes opening last night a few hours after the fire began. The CHP did state that the lithium batteries were “incredibly difficult to extinguish,” according to NBC Bay Area.
The truck’s driver said that the Semi caught fire, but he did not have an explanation.
An estimated 5,000 to 7,000 semi-truck and large commercial vehicle fires occur on U.S. roadways every year.
Tesla’s launch of the “Emergency Drive Away” function a few months back offered owners a safe option to evacuate an area if they were in reasonable danger. The function finally got its first use in the real world, but it appears it was by mistake.
A video shared by u/Joshalander in the r/TeslaLounge subreddit recorded the instance from his vehicle and said the incident took place in Austin this past weekend during the city’s F1 Race.
“Was charging around 6 AM this past Sunday in Austin before heading to the F1 race and heard a pop. Looked over and saw the new emergency drive-away feature in action. Genuinely felt bad for the dude when he got out and realized what happened, since he looked exhausted and only seemed to half-read the prompts.”
🚨 Here’s the first look at Tesla’s Emergency Drive Away function in action:
Apparently this driver accidentally enabled it and drove forward; you can see the Supercharger pull with the car.
Tesla said previously this would cost up to $25k if not used properly. https://t.co/B4qQRrsO6B
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 28, 2026
Emergency Drive Away unlatches the Supercharger connector from the vehicle, but still causes damage to both the car and the Supercharger. Tesla has said that it will cost up to $25,000 in repairs to have everything fixed back to normal.
Additionally, the company said that if it were not used in an emergency situation, the driver of the vehicle who activated the Emergency Drive Away feature would be responsible for all repair costs.
Tesla constitutes the following situations as reasonable justifications for activating the feature:
- You face an immediate threat to your life or personal safety.
- You must leave the area immediately.
- Exiting the vehicle is unsafe.
- Unplugging the charge connector would unreasonably delay your departure or expose you to a risk to your personal safety.
After using the feature, Tesla requires the driver to schedule Service so the car can be inspected.
Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile are trying to shut Starlink out before FCC vote
Tesla Semi catches fire in California: what we know
