Electric vehicle and charging station vandalism is a real problem in some communities, as misinformed and spiteful individuals hinder the progress of the clean energy movement.
In a viral video, one Reddit user shared footage from a car camera of a man getting out of his truck to unplug a charging Tesla completely unprovoked.
The Tesla owner shared, "I was notified on my phone that the car stopped charging, and by the time I got back to my car, the truck driver was already gone."
Despite impressive benefits of EVs for personal savings and reducing pollution, some people still don't understand, accept, or see value in them.
EVs depend upon charging stations because they use batteries that store electricity to power them instead of running on dirty energy from gasoline or diesel. Charging stations are crucial for ensuring that EVs are convenient and reliable, and they are becoming more common with increased availability and longer ranges.
Charging station vandalism threatens to slow the widespread adoption of EVs, which is a crucial part of reducing our world's reliance on dirty energy sources like oil and gas.
This Reddit video posted to r/facepalm isn't the first instance of a vandal unplugging an EV from a charging station, and it certainly won't be the last.
But by publicly sharing these videos and educating drivers about the issue, hopefully, EV owners can gain some peace of mind that others won't tamper with their vehicles during charging.
Misguided complaints about potential pollution created through the manufacturing and charging of EVs and the impact of mining for elements to produce batteries should not be directed at individual EV owners. To overcome anti-EV sentiments, educating the public about the legitimate concerns about EV batteries and reinforcing the fact-based research that supports their use is crucial.
"I just don't understand why people get so bothered by other people's choices/preferences," one Reddit user commented on the video.
A Redditor agreed, "What goes through the mind of people like that to feel the need to do that to another person?"
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