In the following documentation[1], the "template" parameter of vsphere machineset is wrongly described as follows in bullet point 5:

Specify the vSphere VM clone of the template to use, such as user-5ddjd-rhcos

This is wrong. At template parameter, one mustn't place a clone of the VM template but the template itself, because machine-api will clone it as needed (without powering it on and breaking it).

It also contains the following disclaimer, which doesn't make sense at this point:

Do not specify the original VM template. The VM template must remain off and must be cloned for new RHCOS machines. Starting the VM template configures the VM template as a VM on the platform, which prevents it from being used as a template that machine sets can apply configurations to.

The only correct thing in that disclaimer is that the VM template must be never powered on, it is a good generic warning. But machine-api will never do that, so it makes no sense to place this warning here, as it will only create confusion.

Funny enough, another documentation[2] has the right description for the same parameter at bullet point 6.

4.11

Always

1. Read the docs
2.
3.

Wrong docs

Right docs

I see that these doc snippets come from a documentation bug intended to warn against powering on the VM template[3]. However, telling not to use the original template to avoid it being powered makes no sense. If the machine-api powered on the template before using it, no cluster machine could have been created at install time.

References: 
[1] - https://docs.openshift.com/container-platform/4.11/machine_management/creating_machinesets/creating-machineset-vsphere.html
[2] - https://docs.openshift.com/container-platform/4.11/machine_management/creating-infrastructure-machinesets.html#machineset-yaml-vsphere_creating-infrastructure-machinesets
[3] - https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1970130