Driver shares shocking images of vandalism at popular refueling station: 'Why do people feel it necessary to do this?'

Electric vehicle owners are experiencing more cases of vandalism at public charging stations nationwide. One EV driver stumbled across Instagram photos of a few vandalized Rivian Adventure Network charging stations in Sacramento, California.

The original poster expressed disbelief at the public's misconduct regarding EV charging stations to the r/Rivian community on Reddit, asking: "Sacramento RAN damaged … Why do people feel it necessary to do this?!" The OP's attached photos show multiple EV charging stations with damaged or completely detached pumps.

"Why mess with rivian?" one commenter asked, potentially referencing the latest attitude shift on Tesla EVs, which is at least partly politically motivated. 

"Why vandalize … ANY charger equipment?" another retorted. 

This type of vandalism may show public dissatisfaction or disapproval of the EV companies themselves and the EVs they sell. However, these attacks affect everyday EV owners the most, potentially leaving them stranded without enough power to make it home because all the available public EV chargers have been defaced or damaged. 

These attacks also send the message that EV owners cannot reliably depend on their cars for transportation as they may unintentionally become the subject of a targeted crime. This could discourage the widespread adoption of EVs, which has been crucial in transitioning away from dirty energy sources. 

Running on electric batteries, EVs produce zero tailpipe pollution, which improves air quality while lowering the harmful gas output of the country's collective commuting vehicles. 

While EVs may not be fully nonpolluting just yet because of the battery manufacturing and/or charging process (using dirty fuel for power and mining battery production minerals), EVs are generally a lot cleaner than the average gas-powered car over the course of a car's entire lifespan, per the Environmental Protection Agency. As our country also shifts to a cleaner energy grid, the environmental costs of owning EVs will also fall. 

"Looks intentional," one commenter stated. The OP replied: "Definitely was. It was all the chargers from my understanding."

"That's sad," the same commenter said.

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.

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