Tesla Supercharger vigilante gets idle fee revenge on "EVholes” in China

Dec 27, 2023

Electric cars are becoming more and more mainstream. For drivers who have been using EVs for a long time, the emergence of electric cars as popular forms of transportation has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that the transition to sustainable transport is accelerating. The disadvantage is that rude and insensitive drivers now drive EVs as well.

Over the years, EV owners have dealt with ICE-ing incidents, which involve a combustion-powered car deliberately or accidentally blocking access to an electric vehicle charging stall. It's annoying, inconvenient, and at times, even dangerous, at least when the driver of the vehicle blocking the charging stall is aggressive.

But with EVs now becoming more popular, some electric car drivers now behave like ICE-ers as well. In social media, photos and videos are abounding of electric vehicle drivers taking up valuable charging stalls even if they’re not charging their cars at all. So frequently has this been happening that the EV community has come up with a term for such drivers: "EVholes." And yes, the name is a reference to the behavior.

Tesla Owners Abusing the Superchargers in China.Even with Tesla's floor lock solution they’re parked but not charging!Along came this HERO he help them plug in, now Tesla's Idle fee is activated! #Tesla #TeslaChina #Supercharger $TSLA pic.twitter.com/JvtnRPeF1H

Companies like Tesla, particularly in China, have come up with solutions to discourage drivers from parking in charging stalls if they will not be charging their cars. One of these are floor locks that block non-Teslas from parking at a Supercharger stall. But even with Tesla China's floor locks, some Tesla drivers just end up parking in Supercharger stalls without plugging in their cars. Interestingly enough, other Tesla owners are fighting back with their own dose of petty revenge.

A Tesla Supercharger "vigilante" in China, for example, posted a video on social media of some Model 3 and Model Y being parked at Supercharger stalls without being plugged in. To teach the owners a lesson, the Supercharger vigilante simply plugged the vehicles to the Superchargers. That way, the cars can get their batteries charged. But after their charging session, they will start racking up idle fees. When left unattended, idle fees can be a pain.

For those wondering, yes you can open the charge port of a locked 3/Y by pressing the button on the charger. It worked. Good deed done for the day! pic.twitter.com/i6Lh9amX2U

The same practices have been reported by other EV owners in the United States. Longtime Tesla Model 3 owner @BLKMDL3 recently shared a similar incident on Twitter. The practice is generally accepted by EV owners, though some were surprised that the Model 3 and Model Y's charge ports could be accessed even when the vehicles are locked.

Do you think this is an acceptable way to handle rude EV drivers who take up valuable charging stalls even when they’re not charging? What other options can EV drivers do to address the issue?

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