Billy Carlysle

Ron Villarin drove this Tesla Model 3 from Paradise Hills to Las Vegas. "Normally I would do two stops."

On October 30, Ron Villarin drove his dual-motor Tesla Model 3 from his Paradise Hills home to the Las Vegas Convention Center for less than $30 worth of Tesla Supercharger-electric juice. "That's three stops," he explained to me on November 4, "normally I would do two stops, but I needed to fill up because I knew my car was going to be there for the week."

On November 2-5, Villarin's Solid Black colored, four-door Tesla was one of the hundreds of modified vehicles on display at SEMA. The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) exposition is one of the largest auto shows in the world. Yet, in 2019, when I walked among the 160,000 industry-exclusive attendees, I don't recall seeing one Tesla.

"Congrats, how'd you get the Tesla into SEMA 2021?" I asked Villarin.

Rex V.: "This Tesla Model 3 Long Range does a zero to 60 in like 4.2 seconds."

Billy Carlysle

"I owe it all to Autofashion. I have a 'frunk' setup from them which is the air-ride system; it's all in the front trunk because there's no engine there." Autofashion, a Miramar-based vehicle-customizing shop, ran air lines from an air compressor to the rubber and polyurethane airbags on the four corners of the 4,000-pound vehicle. That Saturday, an Autofashion rep lifted the Tesla via a control mounted within its minimalist designed five-passenger confines. He drove the car into Central Hall, parked it in the Rays wheels' booth, then decompressed the air from the airbags and dropped the luxury car onto its frame. Villarin's Tesla sat on 19-inch Rays wheels while its aftermarket CMST carbon fiber-lip kit hovered millimeters over the venue's carpet.

On November 2, I spoke with Villarin's Ruined Tesla crewmates — Rex V., who drove his Tesla Model 3 Long Range in from Queens, New York, and AJ Velasco, who left his Tesla Model 3 Performance back in New Jersey and flew in. "To be in Ruined Tesla, your Tesla has to be bagged on air suspension," Velasco said. "Ron's (Villarin) Tesla looks better in person," Rex commented as we walked around the vehicle. "Especially with the red seats and carbon fiber steering wheel." "How fast is it?" I asked the two; Velasco responded, "So this Tesla Model 3 Long Range does a zero to 60 in like 4.2 seconds; the Performance version like mine back home does 3.1 seconds. Keep in mind, though, when we bought the cars in the last year or two, Tesla estimated the Long Range at 4.4 seconds and the Performance at 3.2 seconds. One of the awesome things about Tesla is the constant software updates." The updates include Tesla's ability to adjust efficiency in the vehicles' systems and locate ways to increase power, hence why the website currently has faster times.

Back at the Barona 1/8 mile dragstrip, a week before SEMA, a quiet, dark-gray-colored Tesla Model 3 beat a blue-colored vintage hot rod — with a 7.5-second winning time slip. A different Tesla driver smoked two muscle cars and a Porsche on the Barona strip about two weeks before. "That Tesla S (Plaid) does 9.2-second quarter-mile runs, factory, with no modifications," Velasco continued. "It's the highest performing sedan ever built." To put things into perspective: a Ferrari LaFerrari and a Porsche 918 Spyder you'd likely see rolling through La Jolla reportedly pull about a 9.8-second quarter-mile time slip. Even Vin Diesel's character said the iconic "For those ten seconds or less; I'm free" line to Paul Walker's character in the inaugural Fast and Furious movie — three years before Elon Musk invested $30 million into then-called Tesla Motors in 2004.

"Down below us, there's like a subway system, but you ride in Teslas."

But why are Teslas so quick? Word on the San Diego streets is that Teslas or EVs (electric vehicles) can accelerate from zero to their top speeds without shifting a single gear. Villarin's and Rex's Teslas top out at 145 mph; Velasco's at 161 mph; the Model S (Plaid) at Barona, 200 mph. Tesla's powerband/torque is achieved instantaneously, unlike most conventional gas-powered vehicles with far more movable parts between the combusting engines and the vehicles' wheels.

Back in Las Vegas on November 4, Villarin from San Diego met up with Rex from New York for the first time, and they met with four other members, including Velasco. "This is like a special occasion," Villarin said, "that's not going to happen in a lifetime." Rex added, "This show is massive and fun. I had to stop around 22 times from New York all the way here to Vegas; I only paid a total of like $293 in refilling the battery. So it was worth the drive."

Ruined Tesla members from around the U.S. have group-message chats on the Instagram platform. Here they help one another with do-it-yourself air-suspension tutorials, and they provide tips on keeping their batteries cool, so the cars perform better. Some post step-by-step instructionals on installing parts, while other members post incidents captured by their onboard cameras.

Eugene from San Diego is another member of Ruined Tesla. He owns a candy-apple red Tesla, which couldn't make it to SEMA. "He got into an accident about a week ago," Velasco said. "And it was caught on camera. There's like cameras on every side of the car." Villarin continued, "So the Tesla has what we call Sentry Mode; it's always recording. He was hit coming home from work, and he's OK, that's the most important thing."

"People used to pick on me in my Tesla when I was driving around like two years ago," Velasco said. "But now they know better, and no one bothers me." However, Villarin says that he still gets revved on by purveyors when daily driving his Tesla throughout San Diego. "I don't entertain them, and I go on my way."

"There are only about ten Teslas at SEMA that I saw," Velasco noted. "Ron [Villarin] being center stage in the Rays booth, one of the most iconic brands in the industry, is a big deal showing people that our Teslas can be modified. And Rex representing Rohana Wheels and his other sponsors is a big win for us too."

There were slower Teslas at the show that Velasco forgot to assess in the car count. "Down below us, there's like a subway system, the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop, but you ride in Teslas. So they were telling us yesterday that because it's so successful here, that all these cities want it now."