4 ms·

Tesla Model 3 Disqualified from First in Class Finish for Being Electric

15 points by bluejekyll 8y ago

srtjstjsj 8y ago
What are the boundaries of a "class"? There has to be some rational basis, like weight, or cost of power.
gamblor956 8y ago
It was disqualified because the rules for the event clearly required the vehicles to be primarily ICE vehicles. Hybrids were accepted only because the electrical motors were only usable at lower speeds. The staff member that let the Tesla enter the event should not have, and presumably did not realize that the car was fully electric rather than just a hybrid. There's some useful whining in the comments, mostly idiots posting the rules and misinterpreting them. ("May" in a legal context generally means "allowed", and when used with "not" or "only" places significant limitations on what is allowed.) All in all, much ado about nothing.
- viraptor 8y ago
  > presumably did not realize that the car was fully electric rather than just a hybrid I don't buy that anyone working at a car racing event doesn't know Tesla's full electric.
  - gamblor956 8y ago
    Well, the alternative is that the person who let the Tesla enter knew it was an electric and didn't care, despite knowing that the Tesla could not win the event.
  - Gibbon1 8y ago
    The usual way of dealing with a result you dislike is to allow the win and then change the rules so it doesn't happen again.
    - gamblor956 8y ago
      Why would they need to change the rules? The rules already provided that an EV could not win, and should not even have been allowed to enter.
      - Gibbon1 8y ago
        Yes but they were allowed to enter. Then rules were then reinterpreted when they won. That isn't very classy now is it.
        gamblor956 8y ago
        That's not what happened at all. A person manning the front desk, not one of the judges, accepted the entry fee and let them compete. At some point, the judges were made aware that the car was an EV, and disqualified from the rules, which clearly stated that only ICE vehicles were permitted. No reinterpretation required. Just simple, straightforward application of the existing rules. They should have refunded the entry fee after disqualifying the Tesla; it's not clear if that happened or not (the original article didn't say). Hybrids are ICE vehicles, and at any rate there was a specific exception in the rules allowing hybrids to compete. Per the website, hybrids compete as their own class, but it's possible it was changed after the event. Presumably, next year the event will allow EVs to compete as their own class. What happened is about as classy as Tesla die-hards complaining when Teslas don't get special treatment.
segmondy 8y ago
Ha, I remember when electrics were laughed at, and claimed to be boring, slow, impractical. Now they are mopping the flaw and the internal combustion engine classes are yelling "not fair!" What's really interesting is why are all the super cars not electric? The owner's rarely drive them long distance, drive them only on the weekend, they cost a ton to maintain. Tesla really should corner that market.
- xiphias2 8y ago
  It's just because it takes time to build the new supercars. Tesla Roadster is out in 2-3 years, it sets the standard for other manufacturers.
kjeetgill 8y ago
> Cameron noted that the Model 3 was the first electric car in a Global Time Attack event and that the organizers were actually excited about having a Tesla in the event, but they clearly weren’t prepared to let it actually compete. > The protesting party was the racer who earned second place, making the protest a completely biased objection that came after the car was accepted into the competition, after several rounds of competition, and after the award was actually made. Sounds like the organizers got pinned by a salty competitor. Ideally they would have amended the rules well before the competition but I suspect they didn't consider their own fine print.

15 points by bluejekyll 8y ago

What are the boundaries of a "class"? There has to be some rational basis, like weight, or cost of power.

It was disqualified because the rules for the event clearly required the vehicles to be primarily ICE vehicles. Hybrids were accepted only because the electrical motors were only usable at lower speeds. The staff member that let the Tesla enter the event should not have, and presumably did not realize that the car was fully electric rather than just a hybrid. There's some useful whining in the comments, mostly idiots posting the rules and misinterpreting them. ("May" in a legal context generally means "allowed", and when used with "not" or "only" places significant limitations on what is allowed.) All in all, much ado about nothing.

viraptor 8y ago
> presumably did not realize that the car was fully electric rather than just a hybrid I don't buy that anyone working at a car racing event doesn't know Tesla's full electric.
- gamblor956 8y ago
  Well, the alternative is that the person who let the Tesla enter knew it was an electric and didn't care, despite knowing that the Tesla could not win the event.
- Gibbon1 8y ago
  The usual way of dealing with a result you dislike is to allow the win and then change the rules so it doesn't happen again.
  - gamblor956 8y ago
    Why would they need to change the rules? The rules already provided that an EV could not win, and should not even have been allowed to enter.
    - Gibbon1 8y ago
      Yes but they were allowed to enter. Then rules were then reinterpreted when they won. That isn't very classy now is it.
      - gamblor956 8y ago
        That's not what happened at all. A person manning the front desk, not one of the judges, accepted the entry fee and let them compete. At some point, the judges were made aware that the car was an EV, and disqualified from the rules, which clearly stated that only ICE vehicles were permitted. No reinterpretation required. Just simple, straightforward application of the existing rules. They should have refunded the entry fee after disqualifying the Tesla; it's not clear if that happened or not (the original article didn't say). Hybrids are ICE vehicles, and at any rate there was a specific exception in the rules allowing hybrids to compete. Per the website, hybrids compete as their own class, but it's possible it was changed after the event. Presumably, next year the event will allow EVs to compete as their own class. What happened is about as classy as Tesla die-hards complaining when Teslas don't get special treatment.

segmondy 8y ago

Ha, I remember when electrics were laughed at, and claimed to be boring, slow, impractical. Now they are mopping the flaw and the internal combustion engine classes are yelling "not fair!" What's really interesting is why are all the super cars not electric? The owner's rarely drive them long distance, drive them only on the weekend, they cost a ton to maintain. Tesla really should corner that market.

xiphias2 8y ago
It's just because it takes time to build the new supercars. Tesla Roadster is out in 2-3 years, it sets the standard for other manufacturers.

kjeetgill 8y ago

> Cameron noted that the Model 3 was the first electric car in a Global Time Attack event and that the organizers were actually excited about having a Tesla in the event, but they clearly weren’t prepared to let it actually compete. > The protesting party was the racer who earned second place, making the protest a completely biased objection that came after the car was accepted into the competition, after several rounds of competition, and after the award was actually made. Sounds like the organizers got pinned by a salty competitor. Ideally they would have amended the rules well before the competition but I suspect they didn't consider their own fine print.