Pickup Trucks Are Blocking Tesla Charging Stations Because 'Merica!

I’ve lived in rural areas of Pennsylvania for my entire life. I’m talking simple, small towns that Sarah Palin would readily qualify as “Real America,” and God and guns are in abundant supply. I say all of this because I don’t want to be misconstrued as some out-of-touch coastal blogger who’s looking down his nose at “good,” salt of the earth Americans. I’m right here in the trenches as they coal roll around in trucks with bumper stickers that read, “Trump That Bitch,” or have Calvin pissing on the words “Gun Control” and “My Ex.” Because when has a dude who loves guns but hates women ever gone horribly wrong?

Anyway, things aren’t getting any smarter out here in Trumpland. Via Business Insider:

Tesla drivers are reporting a spate of “ICE-ing” (an acronym for internal combustion engine) by large trucks at Superchargers across the US.

A Reddit user named Leicina said that in one instance a group of trucks blocked all the charging spots while chanting “‘F’ Tesla” before being asked to leave by an employee of a Sheetz convenience store in Hickory, North Carolina, about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte.

Like most Supercharger stations, the one where the incident occurred isn’t on land owned by Tesla but leased from third parties, giving the company little control over how the charging spots are used from day to day.

Setting aside my thoughts on Elon Musk and his cult-like followers who are a separate bag of awful, what in the actual f**k? How perversely devoted are you to a hunk of metal that drives you from point A to point B that you feel the need to lash out like this? What are these assholes going to do next? Own the libs by refusing to recycle? (I made the mistake of Googling if that’s already a thing, and yup, it is. Goddammit.)

Fortunately, state and local officials are stepping up, according to Quartz:

States and cities are now passing laws to prohibit the practice (so far Florida, California, Oregon, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Washington are among those with rules on the books). A few cities in the South such as Raleigh, North Carolina and Knoxville, Tennessee, have also taken action, along with private-property owners—such as a shopping center in Virginia—which tow offending vehicles.

And while it’d be hilarious to see some moron’s pickup get towed because he parked in front of a charging station that barely anyone uses because America is still slavishly devoted to pouring liquified dinosaurs into our vehicles, imposing fines and passing local ordinances isn’t going to stop the harassment. We’re talking about a mindset that takes pride in spewing black diesel smoke at Prius drivers, so I highly doubt a ticket is going to make them stop and realize, “Wait a minute, if I love freedom so much, why am I dictating what kind of car people should drive?” Not that these easily-threatened man-children shouldn’t be fined, by all means take their money, but in an ideal world, “jackass who blocks electric car charging stations with his pickup” should land someone on a list of unhinged shitbirds to keep an eye on. Sadly, that’s never going to happen, and instead, there’s a very good chance that same pickup has a gun rack inside or a weapon under the seat.

I’m trying to be more optimistic going into 2019, but we’re what, two days in? And already I can picture a shootout happening over what kind of engine makes cars go vroom.

This is why I drink. (And also because it’s delicious.)