Driver shares photo of concerning trend at EV charging stations: 'You'll be seeing more of this in the future'

A Redditor found a public electric vehicle charger destroyed and shared the concerning scene on r/Elektroautos, simply asking, "Why?"

This unfortunate discovery can be day-ruining for EV drivers. 

The charging station's cords have been sliced off the machine, rendering it useless. For drivers, this can be a big inconvenience, and for the charger's owner, it's a financial burden to replace. 

Destroying chargers is a common form of EV vandalism. While some vandals may be motivated by the valuable copper in chargers, others have a negative perception of EVs. This anti-EV sentiment can manifest as someone with a gas-powered vehicle parking in EV-designated spots, keying cars, or slashing tires. 

EV vandalism can deter people from making their next car an electric vehicle, and they'll miss out on the benefits an EV has to offer.

Charging an EV costs far less than gas — EV drivers save "up to $2,200 a year for a fully electric vehicle, and $1,500 for a hybrid electric vehicle," according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Regular maintenance is also more cost-effective, as EVs typically don't require oil changes, spark plug replacements, and other repairs that gas-powered cars need.

Not only are EVs better for your wallet, but they're also far more sustainable than their gas-powered counterparts. While a gas-powered car releases around five tons of carbon dioxide each year, EVs produce no tailpipe pollution at all. 

This helps the EV pay off its lifetime carbon debt (the pollution released during production). Since gas-powered cars constantly release planet-warming gases, gas cars will never be able to pay off their production debt. 

Charging at home is even better than charging at public stations — even if you don't have solar panels for free electricity — since it can be done more cheaply and overnight while you sleep. While all EVs and plug-in hybrids come with a Level 1 charging adapter that works on a standard wall outlet for about 30-40 miles of charge overnight, Qmerit is a great place to look if you want to upgrade to a fast Level 2 charger that can get you from empty to 80% in four to 10 hours. 

Does driving range play into your decision to buy an EV? It's the main factor 💯 It's a factor 🤔 Not at all 🙂 I already own an EV 😎 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Commenters were frustrated with the rise of EV vandalism and the lack of consequences. 

"Why? 'Cause the penalties for it are way too low, and the police don't have enough capacity anyway to patrol enough/catch anyone," one user said.

"You'll be seeing more of this in the future," another wrote.

"Crazy... it feels like this is totally getting out of hand right now," a third Redditor agreed.

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