Dads Drive A Tesla Model Y Cross-Country To Fight Illness Affecting Their Sons

For those old enough to remember, the infamous Cannonball Run was more than just a wacky star-studded Burt Reynolds movie, it was an actual, real-life, coast-to-coast race on public roads started by automotive journalist Brock Yates in the early 1970s. And it is still being run today.

Now, four men, three of whom have sons with a rare genetic disorder, are retracing the race route in a thoroughly modern machine: A Tesla Model Y electric car. And while they won’t be aiming to break the current record of 25 hours and 39 minutes for the nearly 3,000 mile run from the Red Ball Garage in New York City to the Portofino Hotel in Los Angeles, they will be looking to break a fundraising record to help find a cure for SYNGAP1, the debilitating condition affecting their young boys. They are also live-streaming the entire journey, called Cannonball for the Cure, on Twitch and YouTube.

The group claims that last year’s livestream of their drive was the longest contiguous livestream on record at about 55 hours, and they’re hoping to top that record this year. The drive began the morning of October 21st in New York City and is expected to wrap up on Sunday in Los Angeles. In 2021, they completed the Cannonball Run in a Tesla Model X and raised $150,000.

For 2022, the team is in a Tesla Model Y owned by Brett Stelmaszek, founder of UFD Tech. His son suffers from SYNGAP1, which requires around-the-clock, lifelong care. Those afflicted suffer a wide range of debilitating symptoms, including epilepsy, autism, intellectual disability, sleep disorder, and numerous other symptoms. The illness is not passed through genetics but is instead a malfunction of one of two neurological genes known as SYNGAP1, thus the name for the disorder. So far, there is no cure for the illness, but research is ongoing.

The illness is very rare, with about 1,100 known cases worldwide and about 350 in the U.S., according to the Syngap Research Fund, or SRF, the 501(c)(3) public charity that was started in 2018 and is run by parents of affected children. The charity is covering all costs associated with the Cannonball Run so 100% of donations go to research for a cure, according to a spokesperson who talked to Forbes.com.

The Cannonball for the Cure Tesla Model Y is wearing a special wrap (above) to raise awareness for SYNGAP1, and viewers turning into the livestream on Twitch and YouTube can earn points towards prizes the team is giving away. With the larger battery capacity and longer range of the Model Y, the team thinks their livestream run (and overall trip) may end up being shorter than the 55 hours they posted last year since they will have to charge up the EV less often. Elon Musk and Tesla Motors are not involved in the fundraiser.

Also on board for the coast-to-coast run is Kevin Frye, the managing partner of a law firm in Mississippi, and Peter Halliburton, of Texas (above). Both have young boys with SYNGAP1. Another rider/driver brought by Stelmaszek will also be on board. Mike Graglia, the founder of the SRF whose son also suffers from SYNGAP1, is not along for the ride in the Tesla. Model Y owner Stelmaszek says that since last year’s Cannonball Run, his son, age 4, has suffered through 20,000 seizures, or many per day, every day.

The Cannonball for the Cure team is not looking to break the Cannonball Run time record, and plan to drive safely with regular driver rotations to avoid fatigue. Still, it’s a straight-through drive for the team and the all-electric Tesla, so it will be interesting to see what their final time is. It sounds like a good plot for a movie.

If you would like to donate to the fundraiser to cure SYNGAP1 and get more information about Cannonball for the Cure, click here. Follow the team’s progress on Twitch and YouTube. Forbes.com is not affiliated with the fundraiser.