A Tesla owner is dealing with frustration — and hundreds of dollars in damages — after a stranger kicked their brand-new Model Y for no apparent reason.
The footage, shared in the r/ModelY Reddit community, shows a man charging toward a parked Tesla and then suddenly landing a forceful front kick to the driver-side door.
Without saying a word or checking for damage, the stranger walks away. The vehicle, only eight weeks old, now has a large dent.
"The bad news is this means I won't be seeing a penny to fix the damages (looking at around $1k-$1,500 ish to fix)," the owner wrote.
Unfortunately, vandalism like this isn't rare. Attacks on electric vehicles and public chargers have been on the rise in recent years, sometimes fueled by resentment toward newer transportation tech, according to Drive.
But these attacks don't just hurt individuals. They risk slowing the adoption of EVs, which play a vital role in reducing our dependence on dirty energy sources. Each year, the world extracts 16.5 billion tons of dirty energy from sources like coal and oil.
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In comparison, producing EV batteries requires just 7.7 million tons of minerals annually. This makes EVs a much cleaner alternative to gas-powered cars, even when accounting for battery production and mining.
According to the original poster, the individual involved was a person experiencing homelessness who frequented the neighborhood. The Redditor also noted that they would need to pay the damages out of pocket.
Incidents like this highlight how unnecessary hostility toward EVs, even when misguided, can discourage progress toward cleaner communities.
Despite this, switching to an EV remains an ideal move for drivers focused on savings and reducing their environmental impact. Combining an EV with home solar can further cut costs. EnergySage helps drivers explore vetted solar options to make that shift easier.
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In the comments section, Redditors were mostly upset about the incident.
One user said, "Jealousy is a downward spiral."
Another commented, "I wonder if his hatred is towards Elon and takes it on the vehicle. I find it hard to believe that people are not in favor of a vehicle that has a lesser carbon [foot]print than the norm."
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