It's unclear whether more people are blatantly doing inconsiderate things nowadays or if we just catch a lot more of it on camera.
Whichever it is, a Tesla driver shared one of the more outrageous examples yet, and it appears to be an EV-driver-on-EV-driver offense rather than another instance of Tesla vandalism — as they captured someone stealing their cord while the driver was literally waiting in their car.
They posted the frustrating footage to the r/TeslaModel3 subreddit. The video shows another Tesla driver unplugging the original poster's cable and then replacing it in their own car. The OP noted that the moment in the video when the offender scurries off is when they opened their car door.
Visitors to the subreddit were left baffled by the behavior.
One user wrote: "Wait... she took the cable while you were still in the car? That's bold - or a total lack of situational awareness."
"Looks like he had a sun visor on so she couldn't see him inside," another user theorized. "Still bold though I'm sure she noticed him getting out, just hope he took back the charger."
For whatever reason, public charging stations seem to be a magnet for poor behavior. Non-EV drivers have been known to park illegally in the spots, seemingly to make a statement and block out EV drivers. Cord theft for copper wires is another maddening problem.
Teslas are also seemingly a focus of these attacks. The vehicles have long been divisive, but anti-Tesla sentiment appears to be rising amid CEO Elon Musk's involvement in President Donald Trump's government.
As this video and others show, even EV drivers can be guilty through cord-stealing.
While one solution to this is to achieve the holy grail of EV ownership and charge at home, not everyone has the means or real estate to do so. And even for those who do, it will cover the vast majority of all charging needs, but trips over 300 miles will require access to public chargers.
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With those factors in mind, frustrating experiences like the OP's can discourage drivers from considering a switch to an EV and slow overall EV adoption.
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If you were going to purchase an EV, which of these factors would be most important to you? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Cost 💰 That's bad for the planet, as over their lifespan EVs are better for the environment, even with their imperfections, which are fewer than the imperfections of gas cars. EVs reduce our collective reliance on dirty energy that heats the planet, since even though most EVs charge off the grid, the grid can pull from a wide variety of power sources that includes natural wind and solar power.
For drivers, that translates to fuel savings and industry-low maintenance costs — as EVs do not have as many moving parts and do not require oil changes, among other factors.
One EV driver on the subreddit asked: "Never had this occur, but when it does, what can you do legally to try and deter people in the future for everyone?"
"Time to get a karen-lock," a user suggested in reference to the slang name for a j1772 lock that provides extra protection.
Users also noted that this may become a problem of the past when the NACS is standard in the U.S. and adapters are no longer necessary.
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