Vehicle owner shares upsetting photos after returning to infuriating scene at charging station: 'There is unfortunately a lot of hostility'

An electric vehicle owner recently returned to their parked Rivian R1T only to find it had been keyed.

The post on the r/Rivian subreddit included an image of the car's bumper scratched with deep lines cut into the shape of male genitalia.

According to the original poster, the damage happened while the vehicle was parked at a charging station in Orange County, California.

"Thanks to Distinctive Coach Autobody for de-c****** my truck!" the user said, referring to the vandal's drawing resembling what you might expect to find on a middle school bathroom stall. "They did a great job! So glad to have this back. I had to drive a Corolla, and holy hell going back to an ICE [internal combustion engine] car sucked."

While EV vandalism might seem like a fringe issue, acts of hostility like this one can have a chilling effect.

Damage to personal property not only frustrates EV owners but may also discourage potential buyers from making the switch, slowing the broader transition away from fossil fuels. If this was the vandal's intent, however, the endorsement of EVs the victim posted afterward may actually have the opposite effect.

In any case, the clean energy shift depends on accessible and safe public infrastructure, including charging stations, which are already limited in many areas.

While some critics argue that EVs aren't as green as they seem due to battery production and rare earth mining, data consistently shows that they're still far cleaner than gasoline-powered cars.

Even EVs with the "dirtiest" batteries emit significantly less pollution over their lifetime. And while rumors of mining being worse than ICE vehicles have been disproved time and time again, the negative rhetoric surrounding EVs persists.

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The post struck a nerve online, with EV drivers and supporters expressing anger and frustration. The comments section quickly filled with speculation about the motivation behind the vandalism.

"Curious, what city are you in? There is unfortunately a lot of hostility with the EV wave," one user said.

"Either someone hates EV or you know exactly who did it," said another.

"EV hater I suspect. I couldn't name an enemy if you gave me time to list any out," the OP responded.

While the scratches may buff out, the deeper issue — public hostility toward sustainable tech — will not disappear so easily.

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