Some feathers appear to be ruffled as more drivers than ever hit the road in electric vehicles.
Take, for instance, one Redditor who left their EV in a parking lot while they went shopping.
Next thing you know, someone wearing sunglasses and a hat walked up to the car and smashed the side mirror, spraying glass everywhere. Then, they pulled out a sharp blade or object and slashed the front tire.
The whole thing was caught on video and posted in the subreddit r/TeslaCam. The footage was possible thanks to the vandalized car being a Tesla Model Y, one of many EVs that include dashboard and mirror cameras.
You might be wondering, why lash out so violently toward a car sitting in a parking lot?
Clearly, EVs are not everyone's cup of tea — but there's really nothing to be so upset about. Going electric has already proved to be a wise financial choice, with fewer maintenance burdens and charging less expensive per mile than buying gasoline or diesel. They have also been found to curb air pollution since they don't release any heat-trapping gases from their tailpipes.
Some critics point out the environmental harm of harvesting necessary EV materials — such as battery metals — or the impact of plugging an EV into an energy grid still reliant on polluting energy.
Both are valid concerns. Yet given that more electric cars can replace the need to extract billions of tons of oil, coal, and gas — fuels that far out-pollute EV battery mining — the pros seem to outweigh the cons.
As for the cars that eventually run off those expensive and harmful fuel sources? They are still worse for the planet than even the dirtiest EV battery system.
🗣️ When you think about owning an EV, what concerns you most about public charging stations?
🔘 Chargers not working 🚫
🔘 Chargers not being available 😥
🔘 Charging being too expensive 💰
🔘 Charging taking too long ⌚
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Still, some potential EV drivers may hold off on buying for fear of their community's reaction. If so, it's a missed opportunity for local economies and our planet's ecosystems.
However, as in this driver's case, built-in cameras can help catch vandals in the act and make driving an EV safer for everyone.
"I don't understand people that do this," one commenter lamented on the original poster's video.
"How do people not know Teslas record this?" another exclaimed.
"You got a perfect shot of him!" a third congratulated.
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