Tesla owner shares photo after returning to concerning scene in parking lot: 'This always seems to occur there'

A Tesla owner took to Reddit to post a photo of their vandalized vehicle. The small triangular window glass toward the rear of the driver's side had been smashed. 

"Do all you people live in California?" one Redditor asked. "This always seems to occur there."

Some Redditors debated whether Tesla vandalism was so rampant in California because so many Californians drive Teslas, because the population is simply higher and more crime occurs in densely populated areas, or if there were political reasons behind the uptick in incidents. 

Teslas have been targeted for vandalism all over the country and the world, and the incidents have often been captured on dashcams and Tesla Sentry Mode. Tesla owners have become frustrated, going online to share their stories and photos of the damage done to their vehicles.

The vandalism may be occurring for several reasons.

EV sales, in general, have been on the rise, according to the International Energy Agency, but Tesla sales have dropped during the first half of this year, according to Popular Mechanics. Since the vandals seem to target Teslas, specifically, and not EVs as a whole, one thought is that the crimes may be motivated by a backlash toward Tesla CEO Elon Musk's involvement in the first few months of the current presidential administration. 

Another theory is that some people may feel that EVs are a threat to traditional gas-powered vehicles, and they may disagree with the changes society is making to reduce pollution to slow the warming of the planet. 

Other EV critics have claimed that the process of mining for materials needed to produce EV batteries is not environmentally friendly and that the battery manufacturing and charging process produces pollution. While this is true, it is also true that the energy for gas-powered vehicles requires removing tons of dirty energy sources from the earth and creates far more pollution. So while the process for manufacturing EVs isn't perfect, it is much more environmentally friendly.

And the process continues to improve.

Unfortunately, vandalism against Teslas can deter people who are considering switching to an EV, which slows the widespread adoption of EVs that would help reduce pollution that is warming the planet.

Do you think a majority of Americans will have EVs in 20 years? Absolutely 👍 Only in some states 🇺🇸 No way 👎 I'm not sure 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Redditors shared in the original poster's frustration.

One sarcastic Redditor asked, "Did Elon throw a ball through it to prove it was bulletproof?"

"Pro tip: leave the seats down and trunk empty … on to the next car …," advised another commenter.

Another Redditor simply said, "Mindless."

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