6 ms·

Truck owners are blocking Tesla Superchargers in 'ICE-ing' protests

27 points by ohiovr 8y ago

microtherion 8y ago
Maybe it's time for EV drivers to strike back. "Rolling Coils", anyone? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY-AS13fl30 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY-AS13fl30
martythemaniak 8y ago
"protest" is an interesting way to describe harassment, threats and blocking people's movements. Would it be called that if I did this to someone as a pedestrian?
- soared 8y ago
  I disagree with the truck drivers, but you could misconstrue sit-ins with the same logic.
  - martythemaniak 8y ago
    Yes, we can misconstrue a lot of things with glibness and context-free logic. For example, these truck drivers are like WWII resistance fighters, bravely standing up to the invaders using only what they have on hand, forced to flee only when the authorities shows up.
  - threatofrain 8y ago
    With regards to sit-ins, if you block off public transportation, like to a bridge, it makes sense to me that some people may die for it. In a city people aren't independent and critically depend on infrastructure and services working, so a sufficiently inconvenient protest is in a sense rolling the die on a variety of bad outcomes. It makes the ethics of protesting more severe.
- wmil 8y ago
  You've basically described many picket lines.
rdiddly 8y ago
Seems weird that anyone would even feel strongly enough about it to go to the trouble of blocking the charger.
- waynecochran 8y ago
  Yes ... I don't understand the motivation of the folks with the large trucks. Do any of them offer a reason why they do this?
  - erikpukinskis 8y ago
    They’re on team gasoline, team America, team trucks, team tradition, team God gave us the Earth to reap.
- wmil 8y ago
  I think there's a certain amount of class envy behind it. What's really interesting is how confident these truck owners are that annoyed Tesla owners won't fuck up their vehicles.
  - craftyguy 8y ago
    I don't even own a Tesla (I rarely drive anything other than a bicycle) and I feel a strong urge to want to fuck up their vehicles. I often find drivers of large trucks like these who try to run me off the road, make right turns right into me, or do other stupid (and dangerous) shit while I am biking.
  - tomjakubowski 8y ago
    Diesel pickups are expensive. Ford's F-150 diesel MSRP starts at like $50k. If it's class envy it's in the downward direction. edit: whoops, forgot that the $35k Model 3 hasn't quite materialized yet.
aaron695 8y ago
One 'incident' and photos of people who park where they shouldn't. We are such an outrage culture.
daleco 8y ago
Ironic considering that the Teslas are made in America. I don't understand the point of their "protest" (beside low cognitive functions). It's time to start towing.
Traster 8y ago
This article seems a bit light. I'd really like an explanation of why this is happening. Even if it just 'people don't like the posh city folk with their fancy cars and advocados'. In some places it sounds like good parking spots are reserved for e-vehicles, in which case that sounds less like a protest and more like.... well... people parking. In other places there's clearly something more going on.
- cprayingmantis 8y ago
  Antecdotal but I’ve heard people in the Bristol TN/VA region refer to electric cars as a threat to their daily life and values. They refer to Obama era policies around clean energy and cite it as an example of corporate welfare I’ve even heard people refer to Tesla’s as cheap made foreign cars. I’m really not sure where they get these ideas from. Also the one in Bristol isn’t really a prime parking spot so that’s not a good argument.
  - vitaflo 8y ago
    >I’ve heard people in the Bristol TN/VA region refer to electric cars as a threat to their daily life and values. Seems a little crazy when these are American made vehicles and they use electricity to run, most of which in that area comes from coal. If anything they should be huge supporters of Tesla.
    - cprayingmantis 8y ago
      That's my thoughts as well. That area has always been a little slow to adopt new tech and more than a little suspicious of it.
- mr_toad 8y ago
  > I'd really like an explanation of why this is happening. Some people just like being bigots. If they weren’t picking on the Tesla owners they’d find some other easily identifiable minority to pick on.
- tomatotomato37 8y ago
jboles 8y ago
They must be really miserable people. The Tesla drivers should make/get a supercharger extension cord, and block the trucks in.
ndnxhs 8y ago
Its really disappointing how telsla is pushing a proprietary charging plug when open charging standards exist and are supported by Tesla cars. They should be forced to use standerdized chargers like how phones are required to charge with USB in the EU.
- erikpukinskis 8y ago
  I don’t believe there were any standard chargers that supported the voltage of the Supercharger at the time Model S was released. I think they made the right call sticking with compatibility across their vehicles. Now that there are standards that are comparable to Supercharger, Tesla has designed dual connector charging stations. It’s a good time because the original charging stations are due for an upgrade. They will eventually go back and upgrade all of the legacy stations. All of this seems eminently sensible to me. Do you think they should’ve released new cars that are incompatible with the ops chargers, or stopped building new charging stations in order to retrofit the old ones? Maybe I can appreciate your point better if you say, exactly, what they should’ve done and when, given the technology of the time?
RickJWagner 8y ago
I just can't believe anyone would really do this. I can imagine the truck owners would take a gag photo, but not beyond that. It's just too stupid.
- erikpukinskis 8y ago
  Have you never met someone who enjoyed fucking with nerds?
technofiend 8y ago
This is absurd and so easily countered! Elon needs a few billboards with the usual iconography (US flag, bald eagles, etc) and some choice slogans: "Teslas run on American Electricity", "Teslas built 100% in America", yadda yadda yadda.
- rcMgD2BwE72F 8y ago
  I wonder how these signs will be perceived outside the US. Unless you plan to use them in the US exclusively? This reminds me of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanta#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanta#History
  - technofiend 8y ago
    Yes I meant in the places where people are blocking access to rechargers. I don't think that's happening anywhere but America so the billboards aren't needed anywhere else.
elijahwright 8y ago
Thermite.

27 points by ohiovr 8y ago

Maybe it's time for EV drivers to strike back. "Rolling Coils", anyone? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY-AS13fl30 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY-AS13fl30

martythemaniak 8y ago

"protest" is an interesting way to describe harassment, threats and blocking people's movements. Would it be called that if I did this to someone as a pedestrian?

soared 8y ago
I disagree with the truck drivers, but you could misconstrue sit-ins with the same logic.
- martythemaniak 8y ago
  Yes, we can misconstrue a lot of things with glibness and context-free logic. For example, these truck drivers are like WWII resistance fighters, bravely standing up to the invaders using only what they have on hand, forced to flee only when the authorities shows up.
- threatofrain 8y ago
  With regards to sit-ins, if you block off public transportation, like to a bridge, it makes sense to me that some people may die for it. In a city people aren't independent and critically depend on infrastructure and services working, so a sufficiently inconvenient protest is in a sense rolling the die on a variety of bad outcomes. It makes the ethics of protesting more severe.
wmil 8y ago
You've basically described many picket lines.

rdiddly 8y ago

Seems weird that anyone would even feel strongly enough about it to go to the trouble of blocking the charger.

waynecochran 8y ago
Yes ... I don't understand the motivation of the folks with the large trucks. Do any of them offer a reason why they do this?
- erikpukinskis 8y ago
  They’re on team gasoline, team America, team trucks, team tradition, team God gave us the Earth to reap.
wmil 8y ago
I think there's a certain amount of class envy behind it. What's really interesting is how confident these truck owners are that annoyed Tesla owners won't fuck up their vehicles.
- craftyguy 8y ago
  I don't even own a Tesla (I rarely drive anything other than a bicycle) and I feel a strong urge to want to fuck up their vehicles. I often find drivers of large trucks like these who try to run me off the road, make right turns right into me, or do other stupid (and dangerous) shit while I am biking.
- tomjakubowski 8y ago
  Diesel pickups are expensive. Ford's F-150 diesel MSRP starts at like $50k. If it's class envy it's in the downward direction. edit: whoops, forgot that the $35k Model 3 hasn't quite materialized yet.

aaron695 8y ago

One 'incident' and photos of people who park where they shouldn't. We are such an outrage culture.

daleco 8y ago

Ironic considering that the Teslas are made in America. I don't understand the point of their "protest" (beside low cognitive functions). It's time to start towing.

Traster 8y ago

This article seems a bit light. I'd really like an explanation of why this is happening. Even if it just 'people don't like the posh city folk with their fancy cars and advocados'. In some places it sounds like good parking spots are reserved for e-vehicles, in which case that sounds less like a protest and more like.... well... people parking. In other places there's clearly something more going on.

cprayingmantis 8y ago
Antecdotal but I’ve heard people in the Bristol TN/VA region refer to electric cars as a threat to their daily life and values. They refer to Obama era policies around clean energy and cite it as an example of corporate welfare I’ve even heard people refer to Tesla’s as cheap made foreign cars. I’m really not sure where they get these ideas from. Also the one in Bristol isn’t really a prime parking spot so that’s not a good argument.
- vitaflo 8y ago
  >I’ve heard people in the Bristol TN/VA region refer to electric cars as a threat to their daily life and values. Seems a little crazy when these are American made vehicles and they use electricity to run, most of which in that area comes from coal. If anything they should be huge supporters of Tesla.
  - cprayingmantis 8y ago
    That's my thoughts as well. That area has always been a little slow to adopt new tech and more than a little suspicious of it.
mr_toad 8y ago
> I'd really like an explanation of why this is happening. Some people just like being bigots. If they weren’t picking on the Tesla owners they’d find some other easily identifiable minority to pick on.
tomatotomato37 8y ago

jboles 8y ago

They must be really miserable people. The Tesla drivers should make/get a supercharger extension cord, and block the trucks in.

ndnxhs 8y ago

Its really disappointing how telsla is pushing a proprietary charging plug when open charging standards exist and are supported by Tesla cars. They should be forced to use standerdized chargers like how phones are required to charge with USB in the EU.

erikpukinskis 8y ago
I don’t believe there were any standard chargers that supported the voltage of the Supercharger at the time Model S was released. I think they made the right call sticking with compatibility across their vehicles. Now that there are standards that are comparable to Supercharger, Tesla has designed dual connector charging stations. It’s a good time because the original charging stations are due for an upgrade. They will eventually go back and upgrade all of the legacy stations. All of this seems eminently sensible to me. Do you think they should’ve released new cars that are incompatible with the ops chargers, or stopped building new charging stations in order to retrofit the old ones? Maybe I can appreciate your point better if you say, exactly, what they should’ve done and when, given the technology of the time?

RickJWagner 8y ago

I just can't believe anyone would really do this. I can imagine the truck owners would take a gag photo, but not beyond that. It's just too stupid.

erikpukinskis 8y ago
Have you never met someone who enjoyed fucking with nerds?

technofiend 8y ago

This is absurd and so easily countered! Elon needs a few billboards with the usual iconography (US flag, bald eagles, etc) and some choice slogans: "Teslas run on American Electricity", "Teslas built 100% in America", yadda yadda yadda.

rcMgD2BwE72F 8y ago
I wonder how these signs will be perceived outside the US. Unless you plan to use them in the US exclusively? This reminds me of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanta#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanta#History
- technofiend 8y ago
  Yes I meant in the places where people are blocking access to rechargers. I don't think that's happening anywhere but America so the billboards aren't needed anywhere else.

elijahwright 8y ago

Thermite.