A visitor to an LA parking garage was shocked to see that the charging cables on every single Tesla charger had been chopped off, leaving them useless.
They posted a video of the scene on the subreddit r/TeslaMotors, saying, "Crime is out of control here [in] LA. Anyone know if those cords can be reused or repurposed? What's the purpose of doing that?"
Commenters jumped in quickly.
"This is definitely for scrap, the price of copper of a wire that thick is crazy," one person explained.
However, others suggested another, even more disappointing, explanation. "I would actually agree with this normally," they wrote. "But seeing how they left 6" of cable there is another intent going on here. … I'd guess some Tesla hating jack*** cut these so EVs can't charge."
"Local bookstore here has free chargers for EVs and both screens were smashed out," another lamented. "Humans are garbage."
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The issue is widespread and growing. In several cities, public charging stations have been destroyed or vandalized on a regular basis. Sometimes, it's for scrap metal. Other times, it's to make a political statement, as with the case of one New Zealand man driving a large truck who attacked four chargers with a sledgehammer (who was promptly arrested for intentional damage).
And while there have been some attempts to legislate against these crimes — like a 2023 Senate bill tightening the requirements of charging component resale — charging station damage is still occurring.
In the case of state-managed charging stations, the cost of repair and replacement falls on taxpayers, harming not only innocent civilians but also placing a double burden on the EV owners.
"Why can't people just be decent?" one person said mournfully.
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The irony, of course, is that switching to an EV is better for the environment, only creating approximately half the planet-warming pollution of comparable gas- or diesel-powered cars. So even as they are targeted, EV drivers are creating a safer future for everybody — even these vandals.
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