A man walking down a street stopped to pick up a slab of concrete and threw it into the rear passenger window of a Tesla. Little did the man know, the car's camera caught him on video.
According to ABC 10 News, a man with a red backpack vandalized the Tesla Model Y in San Diego. He was caught on video picking up the slab and throwing it into the car before running away.
The owner of the car, Edwin Solares, was working inside his home when he heard a "loud boom" and an alarm go off. He went outside to find the window gone and glass everywhere. Half of the slab was hanging out of the car; the other half was still inside.
The damage will cost him $600, which is lower than his insurance deductible, so Solares will have to pay out of pocket.
Solares told ABC News 10: "My heart sank. I just got this car."
This Tesla owner isn't the only one who has had their car vandalized. A day before this incident, another vehicle was vandalized in San Diego. This time, a street camera caught it, but the suspect also had a red backpack. The person also tossed something into the vehicle, which caused $500 worth of damage.
Solares posted the video from his Tesla on Nextdoor, a local social networking app, and other apps and found that many other car owners have had their cars vandalized by a man fitting this description.
Solares also told ABC 10 News that the police collected more evidence and said that the man was a suspect in a case where a window was smashed with a toddler in the back. Fortunately, the toddler was unharmed.
Other Tesla owners are also experiencing vandalism. One Tesla Model 3 owner in northern California had their car keyed while grocery shopping in a Costco.
Tesla has made it easy to switch to an electric vehicle with various price points and charging stations, but some people aren't fans, and it appears that they are letting their dislike of the brand be known.
According to Vital Signs, "a medium-sized EV produces 60-68% fewer greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime than a gas-powered car."
While most of the power grids these cars are charged on are still run on dirty energy sources, EVs will also produce less polluting gases as they get cleaner. These EVs can make communities healthier with less polluting gases, but vandals can make communities feel unsafe, and it can cost residents a lot of money to repair their cars.
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