Tesla owner stunned after reviewing footage of vehicle damage: 'What the heck is wrong with people these days?'

An EV driver in Medford, Oregon, got a stern reminder that there is still a way to go in regard to normalizing the presence of electric vehicles.

The user posted screencaps of a recording from the back of their Tesla Model Y to the r/TeslaModelY subreddit.

It showed a person in a mask throwing a metal can at the back of the vehicle, which appeared to cause damage to the camera itself.

Despite being beneficial to the environment, as they produce no tailpipe pollution that puts harmful, planet-warming gases in our atmosphere, EVs are commonly vandalized.

Some individuals deliberately vandalize EVs without awareness of or regard for being recorded, as in the case of another person who keyed a Tesla in a well-lit area while the vehicle was parked and others were nearby.

Another prominent form of EV vandalism is the cutting of charging cables. As these cables contain copper wiring, this activity could be motivated by the value of the material as much as disdain for EVs or the industry.

Irrespective of the reason, this sort of behavior is never justified and can only stall the broader acceptance and adoption of EVs as a more affordable form of transportation.

While many may simply be protesting the political activities of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, it normalizes public hostility toward EVs as a whole, which will work against the creation of a cleaner future.

Though it is true that mining materials to create EV batteries is not the cleanest activity and often relies on fossil fuels to extract substances such as lithium, the final product is still much cleaner than gas-powered vehicles.

Moreover, the process of mining for EV materials is becoming cleaner, and further innovation will only lead to improvements.

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Commenters were angry on the original poster's behalf.

"What the heck is wrong with people these days? Is that so hard to just not be a jerk?" one user griped. In response, another speculated EV vandals were envious because of the price of gas.

"If you don't use Sentry Mode just to save a few miles, this should be a reminder that you need to turn it on at all times in public," someone else advised.

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