In a video that garnered plenty of both sympathy and pushback, TikToker Manuel Olivera (@mnolivera) shared what he found when he pulled up to an electrical vehicle charging station at a Walgreens in Anaheim, California.
The cable connecting to the part that attaches to the car was gone. The video was captioned, "Some ignorant person that refuses to adopt technology vandalized this EV charger!"
That sentiment was echoed in the video.
@mnolivera Some ignorant person that refuses to adopt technology vandalized this EV charger! #anaheim #ev #evcharger #chargepoint #vandalism #ignorant #crime #anaheimpd #police #california #ford #fordfusion #pluginhybrid ♬ Break My Stride - Chateau Pop
"Some ignorant idiot cut this off," Olivera said. "Why? Because they don't want to adopt technology, so they figure that if you — that you shouldn't charge your car. … That is just unacceptable."
While the comments section was evenly split between those who agreed with Olivera about why this happened and those who had other ideas, his reaction was understandable.
Vandalism of charging stations by people who don't like the growing number of EVs on the road isn't uncommon. In fact, some vandals go to strange lengths to damage the charging equipment. In 2021 in Munich, vandals stuffed raw minced meat into connectors, and they had to be replaced.
Non-EVs have also been spotted parked in charging spots, seemingly so EVs can't charge.
Another issue? Thieves stealing the cables for their valuable copper, and this is where the divide fell between the commenters.
"I'm sure there are security cams if it needs to get reported for investigation," one person wrote.
Another said, "I can't believe what people do; they are cruel."
As mentioned above, there were plenty of people who were convinced it was all about the money, but Olivera wasn't afraid of a little back and forth.
One such commenter posted, "Lmao idk what you're talking about, it was definitely [someone] stealing the wire for $3 of scrap."
Olivera responded: "This is a known issue that people are doing to inconvenience and slow down the EV revolution! Like people parking non-EV in the EV charging stalls."
Another person commented: "Nah. It's because they can sell copper."
Olivera was willing to give in a little, saying, "It is possible but it's a 50/50 either way."
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