Pick-up Truck Driver Caught Unplugging Tesla: Is ICEing Still A Thing?

A video of a pick-up truck driver unplugging someone’s Tesla has been doing the rounds on Reddit of late. Reddit user OrdinarySpecialist38 uploaded the video recorded by the Tesla’s onboard camera as he was sleeping in the back seat waiting for it to charge in Ontario, Canada. A man pulls up in his pickup truck, casually strolls over to the charging port of the EV and starts to remove the cable.

The video cuts there, but according to the Reddit user, the owner then shouted at the man from the back seat and ultimately scared him off.

It of course begs the question, why? The video has become the subject of debate on Reddit, with users weighing in to work out the man’s motive. Of course, we all know petrol and diesel prices are getting out of control, and the general consensus is that the man removed the charger in some misguided act of militancy against EVs and the fuel price predicament. Just because you’re mad that you have to pay through the nose to fill your car up with petrol doesn’t mean you can take it out on electric car drivers, surely?

Anti-EV feeling, of course, is no new phenomenon. A few years ago there was a movement known as ‘ICEing’, which saw drivers of combustion engined vehicles (particularly pick-up trucks) hit back at owners of electric vehicles by blocking charging stations and Tesla Superchargers in particular.

Anti-Tesla sentiment was born from the false perception that they’re driven by self-righteous rich people, and probably the light-hearted trend of Tesla licence plates that poke fun at fossil fuelled cars. It’ll be interesting to see whether electric cars like the Ford F-150 Lightning pick-up truck will bridge the evident gap between avid EV fans and sceptics.

The fact is, the pick-up truck driver in Ontario certainly wouldn’t have appreciated someone messing with his pride and joy, so whatever your stance on electric or ICE cars, it’s not cool to tamper with other people’s stuff.