This Redditor's Tesla is another victim of electric vehicle vandalism. The driver woke up to a scratched signature on the side of their car and shared the bad news to r/TeslaModel3.
"Whelp, it happened," the Redditor wrote. "First time my car got keyed. They keyed it in the middle of the night. Pretty deep, body shop said it would be about $700. It's on the driver-side door under the handle. No other cars parked on my street were keyed or messed with. Some people really suck."
The photo shows a circle of scratches into the side of the car, just next to the front door's handle. Unfortunately, it's unlikely that the vandal will be caught, as the Redditor had sentry mode (which would typically activate and record suspicious activity) disabled while they were parked at home.
EV vandalism is nothing new. Vandalism ranges from minor inconvenience to downright destruction — unplugging charging vehicles, keying cars, and destroying charging stations.
Despite EV ownership increasing, anti-EV sentiment persists, and it might be affecting demand. According to a poll from last April, "fewer Americans – 35%, down from 43% in 2023 – say they might consider buying an EV in the future," according to a Gallup poll. But overall EV sales numbers wound up rising in the U.S. in 2024 over 2023, from 1.4 million EVs sold in 2023 to 1.7 million in 2024.
Many factors affect potential ownership, with cost, charger availability, charging time, political ideology, and vandalism risk among some of the most significant. And unfortunately for current and future Tesla owners, it seems Teslas are particularly a target for the latter right now regardless of the owner's personal feelings about CEO Elon Musk, whose involvement in government has led to protests and vandalism in the U.S. and abroad — so much so that there is now a sizable Wikipedia entry called "2025 Tesla vandalism."
Any political feelings aside, the Teslas that are on the road should remain on the road, so whether that's from buying used at a discount, keeping a car, or buying new, it's important for pollution reduction that EVs maximize their usage to replace as many miles from gas-powered cars as possible. As MIT has outlined, EVs are generally responsible for nearly half as much pollution when driven — 200 grams of carbon dioxide per mile versus 350 for gas cars.
For those who do decide to make their next car an EV, there are a ton of benefits to cash in on. An NRDC study compared the total cost of ownership of electric vehicles to their gas-powered counterparts, which included "the purchase price minus the expected resale value, fuel, maintenance and repairs, insurance, taxes, and fees of each vehicle." All of the EVs had a lower total cost of ownership than gas-powered cars, with savings ranging from $127 to $10,581.
If you're worried about your Tesla, make sure you have sentry mode updated and activated.
Commenters offered their condolences for the car.
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Elon is the man 🥰 "People suck. Sorry man," one Redditor wrote.
Another user suggested a lighthearted approach to fixing it. "Tell everyone it is the signature of a famous person," they said.
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