A shocked family man posted on Facebook about a disturbing experience.
As he and his family strolled away from their parked Tesla, an irate stranger screamed out his open car window, "F*** your Tesla."
"Is the rage necessarily directed towards Teslas or EVs in general? I have a theory that Teslas are the most identifiable EV's around."
The man guessed this ire was due to his EV, not in response to any controversy around Elon Musk.
Either way, anger about EVs is not a new phenomenon. Vandalism at charging stations has become so commonplace that some places, like this station in the UK, have had to find creative ways to circumvent it.
Some of this is due to misinformation or even cognitive bias. Regarding the reasons some people shy away from EVs, Mario Herberz, a researcher at the Consumer Decision and Sustainable Behavior Laboratory of the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the University of Geneva, said, "Psychological factors have been given very little consideration. However, many studies show that individuals do not automatically adopt the behaviours most beneficial for themselves or society, often due to a lack of access to complete information," according to Kathairos.com.
Some of that information has to do with the financial benefit to drivers who switch to EVs. One study showed that 80% of drivers would save significantly over time if they started driving an EV.
Other misunderstandings concern the environmental impact of EVs. There's somewhat valid criticism of the methods used to mine metals needed for battery production. However, the 7.7 million tons of minerals mined for low-carbon technology pales in comparison to the staggering 16.5 billion tons of oil, coal, and gas humans mine each year.
While some commenters thought the comments may have been rooted in a dislike of Elon Musk, others agreed that it's because of a stubborn resistance to evolution.
"Welcome to being an 'early' adopter of a technology that is disrupting and has huge ramifications to an existing industry and requires a shift in mindset from pretty much everyone on the planet," said one person.
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I already own one 😎 Someone else posited that just like people made fun of early smartphone users, writing, "Naturally there are going to be charming individuals like that guy because they fear change."
Another person dismissed the yeller in question, joking, "Haters gonna hate. Don't overthink it."
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