Every new car owner dreads the first scratch. This one arrived early, and unexpectedly, for a Model Y driver.
A Tesla owner in the r/TeslaModelY subreddit shared that their brand-new 2026 model was only three days old when they walked outside to find a deep scratch carved straight across the glass of their driver-side window. The car had been parked overnight on a quiet suburban street, and despite Sentry Mode running, nothing helpful was captured.
"I knew vandalism would happen sometimes and I consider this a badge of honor," the OP shared with a mix of resignation and pride.
Many other Tesla drivers know exactly how this feels. Reports of keyed doors, shattered charge-port doors, unplugged cables, and intentionally blocked charging stations are constantly surfacing in EV forums. Some drivers have found their home chargers ripped out of walls, and others have pulled up to public stations only to discover the screens smashed or cords cut.
These incidents may seem isolated, but together they create friction at a moment when the shift away from gas needs fewer barriers, not more. When chargers are damaged or drivers worry about their cars being messed with, the whole experience starts to feel less dependable. That hesitation slows adoption, especially for people who are already weighing range, charging access, and cost, and now have to add "potential vandalism" to their mental checklist.
This is also where misinformation tends to creep in. Critics often point to battery manufacturing or mineral extraction to argue that EVs aren't actually better for the environment, and people should stick to gas-powered vehicles.
But full-lifecycle analyses repeatedly show the opposite: Even with today's batteries, EVs release less over their lifetime than gas cars. While battery materials require mining, the volume is nowhere near the billions of tons of dirty fuels extracted every year. The goal isn't zero impact entirely, but a meaningful shift away from the far bigger impact of oil and gas.
In the Reddit thread, commenters tried to find practical upsides and camaraderie with the OP's situation. One Redditor jumped in with a small consolation, writing, "Good thing glass is so much easier to repair than a scratch in the paint."
Others tried to offer empathy.
"Sorry this happen[ed] to you. People are just jealous," one person wrote.
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And then there was the familiar nod from someone who's been through their own version of this. "Yikes, if misery loves company helps, hold my beer," said another commenter.
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