An EV driver hoping to charge their car at a newly upgraded station was met with an unsettling discovery when they found nearly all of the cables to the chargers had been cut.
A Reddit post shared in the r/ChargerDrama subreddit showed the aftermath at an Electrify America location where four out of six charging cables were severed. The user questioned: "Is cable cutting becoming common?"
"Is this becoming more common, even though there are supposedly ID requirements for metal buyers that's supposed to prevent this stuff?" the poster asked. "Can't ever have nice things."
In an update, the poster said Electrify America had to shut down the remaining chargers "for safety," leaving the site completely unusable. Commenters quickly confirmed this isn't an isolated incident.
Vandalism like this isn't just frustrating; it actively slows progress toward cleaner, more affordable transportation. Every destroyed cable means fewer available chargers for drivers who rely on them, discouraging EV buyers and increasing dependence on gas-powered cars. That's bad news for both communities and the environment.
Electric vehicles are a key part of reducing planet-heating pollution, even when factoring in battery production. Studies show that even the least efficient EVs produce less lifetime pollution than any gas car. And while mining for battery materials has environmental costs, it's still far less destructive than the billions of tons of fossil fuels we extract every year to power traditional vehicles.
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In the future, expanding reliable charging infrastructure, along with stronger theft prevention and surveillance, can help protect EV progress. It's also a reminder of why home charging and solar energy can make owning an EV cheaper, safer, and more sustainable.
Commenters and other EV owners were sympathetic to the poster:
"I charge 99% at home but it's still heartbreaking," one wrote. "The thief gets $25 and the repair costs $2,500."
Another observed: "Used to be super common around me. I'd encounter it about every other month, I haven't seen it personally in a few years now."
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"I do travel for work and have been to a couple different superchargers that have had several cables cut," another added.
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