Tesla owner frustrated after making 'awful' discovery while washing car: 'Sad'

A Tesla owner came across an unfortunate act of minor vandalism on their car, leaving them frustrated and confused as to why someone would do such a thing. 

The original poster titled their post in the r/TeslaModelY subreddit, "People suck," explaining that they were washing their car when they noticed two marks.

"One looks like a light keying. The other looks to be a [Sharpie] on the [taillight]," they said, noting, "They should come out with a good polishing."

Redditors in the comments were equally angry on the driver's behalf. "That's awful. I can't believe someone would be happy about damaging someone else's property," one person wrote.

"Sad. I know of someone with a Cybertruck that loves the vehicle but is considering turning it in due to the abuse she gets while driving," another responded, adding that people have flipped her friend off and cut her off while driving. 

Tesla has been the target of an uptick in vandalism, including being keyed and spray-painted with graffiti. Charging stations for Tesla and other electric vehicles have also been vandalized, often with charging cables being cut. 

EVs aren't perfect, with their chargeable batteries being a source of concern. The extensive mining for precious metals like lithium that it takes to build them generates its own pollution and waste issues. 

Nonetheless, EVs are better for the planet overall, reducing reliance on dirty energy sources like gasoline that contribute to planet-warming gases. They also save drivers money on fuel and maintenance costs. 

Several commenters from the original post acknowledged that some of the frustration comes from Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk. "I don't think we'd see eye to eye with most muti-millionaires/ billionaires anyway, and they'd be so out of touch with our realities, but the disgust and loathing that trickles down to Tesla owners is ridiculous," they wrote. 

Seth Weintraub, publisher of Electrek, recently told Fox 13 Seattle, "Elon Musk is today's pariah. So people associate Tesla with Elon Musk, and now that people are upset with him, they think, 'Where can I interface with Elon?'"

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"I think this is going to be happening more and more," another Redditor said.

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