Electric vehicle charging etiquette: Photo of unplugged Volvo sparks bitter row
Why this photo of an electric vehicle sparked a bitter war of words between two drivers and a furious debate over the ‘etiquette’ of charging stations
- Dispute between EV owners over charging ‘etiquette’
- Tesla driver recorded how he disconnected a Volvo from the public charger
A bitter row has broken out over electric vehicle etiquette, with a driver who was publicly shamed for seizing a charging station hit back at his accuser.
A photo posted to Twitter by a disgruntled Tesla driver shows a blue Volvo parked next to a charger with the lid open but the cable unplugged.
The irate driver waiting to charge Saturday at Caddens Corner shopping center in western Sydney’s Kingswood captioned the image: “An attempt has been made #evhog #etiquette.”
But shortly after receiving a barrage of criticism online, the Volvo owner came forward, claiming he had done nothing wrong and that the Tesla driver had “unplugged” his car.
“This was posted from my car where I think it’s trying to say I just parked and didn’t really charge,” noted renewable energy advocate Evan Smith wrote.
“Anyway, I get home and check my dash cam and he disconnected my car to take a picture of it.”
A bitter row has broken out over electric vehicle etiquette, with a driver who was publicly shamed for seizing a charging station hit back at his accuser
He even posted a screenshot showing a man unplugging the charging cable.
Mr Smith admitted the vehicle had reached its charge limit when it was disconnected, but said the Tesla driver could have messaged him.
“I was checked into PlugShare, so he could have pinged me there to let me know it was done,” Mr. Smith wrote.
“He even checked in himself, so he knew he could message me.”
Caught, the Tesla driver tried to cool down the situation by writing: ‘2 lessons to learn. Do not unplug other people’s car (sic), even if they are not charging.’
‘The other. Don’t leave cars near chargers that have finished charging.
“I apologize for unplugging someone’s car when I said I didn’t, I know it was wrong, I won’t do it again, I’m sorry I own my mistakes…”
Social media users piled on the Tesla driver to voice their thoughts on the matter.
Checking his dash cam footage, the Volvo owner revealed that the Tesla driver himself had unplugged the charger for the photo (pictured)
“No one should ever touch anyone else’s property no matter what reason is used to justify it, it’s just not okay,” one user wrote.
“Would you have apologized if he hadn’t caught it on the dash cam? Attention-seeking behavior never works out well,” a second user wrote.
“I have a Tesla and I wonder why other EV owners don’t like us and you do this youthful thing for the clicks.”
One user admitted, “I’ll be honest, the politics of chargers is what keeps me from buying an electric car. Who wants to deal with that while trying to run errands.”