A Tesla owner took to the r/TeslaModel3 Reddit community for help after a vandal was caught keying their vehicle.
Video footage was recorded by the car's Sentry cameras, and the incident was said to have occurred on Devon Avenue in Chicago, Illinois.
It shows an individual carrying a shopping bag leaving the pavement and walking alongside the car's driver side, dragging a pointed item along the bodywork to cause intentional damage.
"Tesla Vandal not caught," the Redditor captioned the video, asking for anyone with information to direct message them.
"That's terrible," one Redditor commented, with another saying, "Sorry that happened. People can't leave other people's possessions alone."
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time someone has been caught on a Tesla's surveillance system inflicting damage on a vehicle. What's not clear, though, is why the individual thought this was necessary.
The ownership of electric cars has been highly politicized in recent years, with some viewing the vehicles as an indication of the way someone might vote. If you've bought a vehicle that isn't powered by dirty fuel, that suggests you aren't a supporter of the dirty fuel industry.
With former president Donald Trump a staunch advocate of dirty fuels and President Joe Biden's Democratic party introducing a number of environmentally friendly initiatives — including the Inflation Reduction Act, which offers up to $7,500 in tax credits for the purchase of an EV — many people figure an electric vehicle is a symbol of voting intention.
Critics of electric vehicles have suggested that the mining of rare metals needed for the lithium-ion batteries that typically power these cars causes environmental damage. However, even when taking that into account, EVs are far better for the planet over their lifespan than equivalent internal combustion engine cars — which continually use gasoline and diesel that is extracted from the earth.
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Since the transportation sector produced almost a third of planet-warming pollution in the United States in 2023 — which is responsible for rising temperatures that make extreme weather conditions more likely, more intense, and longer-lasting — moving to vehicles that release no tailpipe pollution is essential to slow the rate of global heating.
This issue has been put into even sharper focus with the devastation that hurricanes Helene and Milton have brought to the southern United States within the space of a few weeks spanning the end of September and the start of October.
Damage to EVs by vandals might discourage some from investing in the technology, but the benefits they provide — including cheaper refueling and maintenance costs — far outweigh the actions of a few vandals.
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