The senseless destruction of a Tesla ice cream Cybertruck marked a new low in the vandalism of electric vehicles and associated green infrastructure.
The event happened in Ohio on July 15, when a woman with two children in a vehicle pulled into a driveway where a Cybertruck was parked. The truck displayed signage for Cyber Cream Dayton mobile ice cream. The suspect smashed all but one of the windows, rendering the EV inoperable. She was arrested shortly thereafter.
"Just a nightmare; happened within 30 seconds," owner Daniel Herres, who was home at the time, told WDTN.
The truck will be out of commission until September. Damages were estimated to exceed $10,000, and the business had to cancel 30 events.
For some reason, EVs are a magnet for this kind of thing. Personal chargers and public charging stations have been targeted by copper thieves and vandals, further downgrading a technology that has been beset by problems, from malfunction to lack of availability.
Property damage is never OK, of course. These types of actions may give pause to would-be adopters of EVs, which produce zero tailpipe pollution when they're being driven. They also are far easier on the environment to manufacture than gas-powered vehicles, even when considering their batteries.
Some critics argue that the extensive mining operations needed to produce battery components make EVs even more unsustainable than internal combustion engine vehicles. But replacing the extraction of billions of tons of gas, oil, and coal with millions of tons of minerals is a net positive.
And if you charge your EV with renewable energy, such as solar or wind, you can significantly lower your vehicle's carbon impact.
Using public transportation is always going to be a better option, and pollution-free alternatives such as cycling and walking are your best eco-conscious bets. If you can replace one vehicle trip a week with any of these methods, it's a win.
Start small, and share your ideals and lifestyle with loved ones. The green revolution is here, and we as individuals can take action to spark corporations to do the same, ensuring a cleaner future for all — including the people who are resisting this change by vandalizing EVs.
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