A Lost Tesla Goes the Wrong Way on the Hot Track During a Live Race Broadcast.

      Oxymoron Photography/YouTube

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      “In a world full of surprises, I present to you, a surprise. This may be the most shocking moment I’ve ever witnessed,” remarked the race commentator during the live coverage of an AFM event at Buttonwillow last weekend. A red Tesla seemed to have accidentally entered a hot track—heading against race traffic—confusing and angering track officials. Thankfully, since no injuries occurred, we can laugh about it now, but what a blunder it was.

      Last weekend marked the fifth round of AFM’s motorcycle racing season, taking place on October 25 and 26 at Buttonwillow in Kern County, California. Apart from this stray red Tesla Model Y, which likely wandered onto the track in search of a charging station, the events appeared to proceed without any issues.

      You might as well check out the footage yourself. The car makes its entrance around the 07:23:40 point in a nine-hour broadcast, during the Middle Weight Super Sport Wave 2 race. You can hear the commentator exclaim “no, no way,” followed by some shouting, after which the audio cuts out.

      The Tesla casually drives along on the right side of the track as if it were just any ordinary road until it is swiftly flagged down by marshals. Even in the shaky zoomed footage, it’s evident from the body language that the Tesla driver is receiving quite a serious reprimand (for good reason).

      A red flag was raised, and track officials escorted the car off the track using a UTV, allowing racing to eventually resume.

      This incident was discussed earlier this week on Reddit’s r/motorcycles, where users suggested that the event organizers bear some responsibility for not properly closing off paved routes leading to the course.

      That being said, I believe the Tesla must have passed several clear signs indicating it was not headed in the right direction. We should reasonably expect a basic level of common sense from drivers. Seriously.

      It appears that a red flag was raised before the car was actually seen on camera, suggesting that the flag station spotted it before it entered the track. The flag was raised, racing was halted, and the situation was addressed. To be honest, the race organizers managed the situation as well as possible given that someone unexpectedly drove into their event.

      “I’m quite certain this will make the highlight reel at the banquet,” the commentator noted. Indeed. Now, these racers might find it challenging to see a red Tesla without feeling a slight sense of PTSD.

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