Tesla Owners Are Fighting Human Trafficking & Attempting A Guinness World Record

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The Tesla Owners Club in Atlanta along with the Miles Through Time Automotive Museum are planning to attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the Longest Tesla Parade while also helping to prevent human trafficking. The goal is to break the record previously set in China with more than 300 Teslas participating in the parade. The event is being organized on Facebook, but for those who may not use Facebook, you can sign up to take part in the parade here.

TESLA OWNERS IN THE SOUTHEAST US, please join the Tesla Parade Guinness World Record Attempt taking place on December 12th, starting just north of Atlanta!! Please share!! https://t.co/Rvrf88FTrQ @Milesthrutime @GWR

— Nick (@nickwhoward) September 16, 2020

The event takes place on December 12, 2020, and the parade will start at 10 AM at Windward Parkway Park and Ride in Alpharetta, GA. There are 6 free EV chargers on site, but you will need a ChargePoint account to use them. The route ends at the Westin Atlanta Perimeter North on 7 Concourse Pkwy in Sandy Springs.

The total route is 15.2 miles, and most of it takes place on GA 400. The Westin is offering a discounted rate of $89 for those who are coming from out of town. The hotel also has Tesla Destination Chargers.

Quick Interview With Coordinator Sean Mathis

Originally, Sean Mathis, who is the founder of the Miles Through Time Automotive Museum, which has over 100 years of automotive history, memorabilia, art, and unique historical exhibits, wanted to see if he could break the Guinness World Record for the youngest founder of a museum while he was a new Tesla owner.

While looking through the records, he noticed an entry by Tesla Owners in China. Hundreds of Tesla owners of both Model X and S vehicles set a Guinness World Record for “the largest parade of Tesla cars.” This feat was set in Beijing with 245 vehicles lined up side by side.

After conferring with his wife, they decided that they wanted to challenge Tesla Owners Taiwan while also helping children who are victims of human trafficking.

“Recently, 35 kids were rescued from human trafficking in Atlanta, plus all the other kids that have recently been rescued in Ohio and really all over the world. I didn’t want this event to have any political influence or go towards anything that has an opposition. Kids and animals are two fallbacks that I will always try to help because they don’t have a voice and a lot of times they can’t help themselves,” he told me in an email.

He told me over the phone that he wanted to set this record but that he couldn’t just set the record without some type of purpose behind it. He wanted to do something to help and is using this event to do just that. He told me that many Tesla owners were not just signing up one Tesla — several families own at least two Teslas and have signed up with both of their vehicles.

“I would love for Elon Musk to be a part of this,” Sean told me on the phone. Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, is known for having a big heart when it comes to helping those in need. He recently helped charities in Louisiana that are providing hurricane relief to those affected by Hurricane Laura. It would be great if Elon Musk could take part in this world record breaking event that will double as a fundraiser for a nonprofit helping children escape human trafficking.

At the end of the event, there will be a banquet held at The Westin Atlanta Perimeter, and Mathis is hoping to get a sponsor for the banquet hall — the funds will go to help Operation Underground Railroad, and the amount, $10,000, is small for large corporations that would like to take part in helping.

Sponsorship packages start at $250 and you can pitch in here.

Operation Underground Railroad

Did you know that it is estimated that there are between 20 million and 40 million people in modern slavery internationally today? This is done in large part through human trafficking, which often goes undetected. The United Nations refers to this as the “hidden figure of crime.” Estimates show that only 0.04% of survivors of human trafficking cases are identified — meaning that the rest are undetected. Globally, human trafficking results in around $150 billion of profit annually, and $99 billion of that comes from commercial sexual exploitation.

Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R) is dedicated to helping with the rescue of those trafficked. Founded in December 2013, O.U.R. has gathered the world’s experts in extraction operations and in anti-child trafficking efforts to bring an end to child slavery. Their Ops Team is made up of former CIA, past and current law enforcement, and highly skilled operatives that lead coordinated identification and extraction efforts — while partnering with local law enforcement around the world.

The Underground Railroad is the inspiration for O.U.R — if you remember, this was a network of secret routes and safe houses established in the U.S. during the times of slavery. The original Underground Railroad helped African American slaves escape into free states and Canada.