A driver discovered an upsetting scene at a charging station that seemingly inconvenienced them on their trip.
The Redditor posted a photo in the r/TeslaLounge subreddit that showed a Tesla Supercharger station in Quartzsite, Arizona, near the California border that had multiple chargers vandalized. The user wrote in the caption that they "Counted at least seven stations" that were damaged.
Electric vehicles have grown in popularity because they offer a range of benefits, like reducing air pollution and improving public health. Unlike their gas-guzzling counterparts, EVs produce no exhaust emissions that contain harmful gases like carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere when driven.
A study from the University of Southern California found that for every additional 20 zero-emission vehicles per 1,000 people, there was a 3.2% drop in asthma-related emergency room visits, illustrating how EVs can improve air quality.
Unfortunately, not everyone is convinced that EVs are the safer option for a cleaner, healthier future. Some note that EV battery manufacturing causes immense pollution, and mining for elements used in battery production harms the environment.
However, the myth that EVs are worse for the environment than gas-powered cars has been debunked. Gas-powered vehicles account for more pollution released into the atmosphere over their lifetimes, and mining for dirty energy sources like coal, oil and natural gas is far more polluting than mining for substances like lithium, cobalt, and copper.
Still, that hasn't stopped vandals from going out of their way to thwart EV drivers. For example, a driver came across two Flo charging points that had all of the cables cut. In Seattle, several cases of severed charging cables were reported. The uncertainty over whether a driver can successfully charge their car for a trip can lead to range anxiety.
Commenters on the Redditor's post weren't surprised by the vandalism at the Supercharging station, but they were still disappointed.
"What a bloody shame," one user wrote. "Not sure why individuals do this."
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