Can you elaborate? What I see is some jerks lashing out at something they don't like. Yes, it's fuelled by anti-environmental resentment rhetoric on one "side" of things. But where's the escalation on the other "side"? The miniscule popularity of electric vehicles?
I wish I had a PhD in Psychology so that maybe I could perhaps even begin to understand the mental gymnastics someone would have to do to be able to justify the claim that both sides are escalating when only a single side is showing aggression.
I'm not sure about the laws in US, but the right thing to do would be to get the car towed by the police or the owner of the infrastructure. Also a warning sign about it is needed.
I'm not sure how the agreement between Tesla and its supercharger users is written, but if it's a contract, then there may be no need to get the police involved.
At one time I leased a very desirable parking space in what was a half-private, half-public lot. People would sometimes ignore the warning sign stating that the space was private parking only and violators would be towed.
When I would arrive in the lot and there was someone in my space, I just called any tow company in the phone book and they'd (very rapidly) send out a truck to remove the offending vehicle. All I had to do was sign the bottom of the form attesting that I was the legal user of that space.
Typically the owner would call the towing central number or the local police to inquiry if (the owner may think the car was stolen) and where the car was towed to.
In Texas theres a phone number, 311, a website and the towing company should also leave a sign at the parking lot entrance/exit with instructions.
Sibling comment mentioned some state laws. Also, at least in the case of some of the gas station chains that have Superchargers, they are free to ask the trucks to leave or have them towed/arrested for trespassing.
In the particular case of gas stations, the economic incentives seem poorly aligned for enforcement. Those trucks are probably owned by people who bring in much more money for the gas station than owners of electric cars. Unless the charging company that has rented space at the gas station is willing to terminate their contract in response to non-enforcement, the gas station will profit from keeping the truck owners happy while disregarding the convenience of the electric car owners.
I would assume numbered gasoline pumps will see no change. Gas stations can attract purchases from electric car owners by providing low-cost chargers away from the pumps.
If anything, gas station owners are just capturing a new market segment.
Maybe this is just stereotyping, but the demographic of people I witness stocking up on hotdogs and beef jerky inside gas stations is closer to "pickup truck owner" than "tesla driver." But I was referring more to the frequency and magnitude of their gas purchases.
(For the record, I'm a big fan of gas station hotdogs and beef jerky.)
I would argue the counterpoint that few people maintain loyalty to a specific gas station. Maybe to a specific brand due to a loyalty card, but even in the 3-station small town I grew up in everyone would hit up whichever station with the lowest price (a penny or two difference, maybe). Given a gas station's proximity to major highways, customer throughput must be a more important metric than repeat customers for a fuel stop.
I too am a big fan of gas station hotdogs, and I must say one station's dog is about as good as another station's dog. Time spent on the warmer is more important than brand of dog at a gas station.
Ticketing them is not required though. You could also get them towed by a private towing company that has a deal with that privately owned lot. And trust me, that will still punish the offender's wallet. And unlike ticketing, your turn-around time is going to be much faster. The cops will write a ticket for the guy, but they won't tow him. So if you want the car removed you have to wait for the towing company anyway.
It’s the same in the US the property owner should call a tow truck or the police.
There was a story on reddit a few weeks ago where this happened outside a hotel. The hotel staff called the cops who knocked on rooms and found owners.
The tricky part is in a lot of situations it can be hard to find the property owner so they can call the cops. Tow truck companies are careful about having an authorized person request the car to be removed.
This can be easily solved; have the property owners and tow truck companies reach an arrangement where the tow truck company understands they are free to tow any pickup truck in those spots, without asking for permission each and every time. These sort of arrangements are common already. A privately owned lot will have a deal with a particular tow truck company wherein the tow truck company is allowed to pull any car that doesn't have the right parking sticker (for example.)
To make sure the right towing company is called, the lot owner puts up signs detailing the terms of parking and stating which towing company is responsible for the lot. Every time somebody sees a car parked in violation with the stated rules, they can call that towing company who will show up and tow anybody they can, making a tidy profit from each car they tow (they profit by holding those cars for ransom.)
These signs are a fairly common sight in America: https://i.imgur.com/nPYaOBf.gif This system works, only the occasional idiot will dare testing those signs.
Pretty sure it depends on the state- when I lived in Washington state it took weeks to get a car that had been abandoned for over a year to get towed from our appartmemt lot.
That being said, I prefer it being hard to tow, privately administered ticketing systems are much better. While in this case the pickups are knowingly taking spaces that aren’t theirs, most people I know (including myself) have only ever been towed when they’ve accidentally broken broken a rule, often in a disputable manner. There is no trial or attempt to resolve, property is seized with no chance to appeal a priori, and people’s means of transportation and livelihood are held hostage for payment. It’s really a pretty awful system.
I suppose it really depends on what your priorities are. Nobody I know has ever been towed. The towing companies really seem to get it right more often than not, and people default to not parking somewhere unless they're confident it's permitted, which is the way I think it should be.
Yes they are common and it’s also common for tow truck companies to pay property owners to patrol their lots. Again is up to the owners to do this sort of things.
I’ve had an issue with parking in apartments before. I wasn’t able to call and get a car towed. The office staff were the only ones. After hours and late night it was an issue.
It must depend on state law or company policy. There are scenarios where tow truck companies operate on a borderline vigilante basis, actively patrolling the lots they have contracts with ready to tow faster than a careless parker can shake their fist at them.
The plates in the picture look like Massachusetts to me. Also looks like an older NY plate on the right. MA has plenty of these types in the west of the state, so that'd line up too.
And in case anyone thinks that this is a niche thing, I have been "coal rolled" on the sidewalk multiple times in Indiana and South Dakota. I'm not saying it's common but it's definitely an activity that a number of people enjoy.
These vehicles are in violation of emissions controls and are subject to revocation of their registration. Feel free to report them to your state dmv. Photographic evidence should be sufficient.
In other news the black soot of diesel exhaust is a powerful carcinogen. People who do this are willfully poisoning people so don’t worry too much about calling them out.
Sure, but not "class" in the classical Marxist or economic sense. It is "class" in the context of the new cultural war, like how Trump is a "blue collar billionaire"
Irrational hatred would be my guess. Tesla may be seen by as the harbinger of radical backlash against the status quo of gasoline consumption, a status quo most represented by vehicles like trucks and SUVs.
These truck bros's hang in groups and post media of themselves "owning" eco friendly vehicles. It's a current trend among large truck (not exclusively diesel) drivers. Hopefully it dies out soon.
Not saying it's morally defensible, but they probably see electric cars as an existential threat. Taking away the existing gasoline based auto industry threatens to leave many jobless and thus unable to provide for themselves and their family.
They're conflating people who hate Tesla as a company, and people who hate Tesla drivers. The nerds writing and sharing anti-Tesla stories are not driving huge pickups to block charging stations, and are 98% of the time supportive of electric cars.
Whereas Tesla drivers are probably seen as rich people from out-of-town in a lot of places (because they are rich people from out-of-town.)
Based on just a cursory Google search, the base price for a Chevy Silverado is $37,600. The Model 3 is $46,000 (before incentives). If you have the income to afford a new Chevy truck (especially with a lift kit), you can also afford a Tesla.
Having grown up in a place where people drove pickup trucks for real (as in not purely symbolic) reasons, I can tell you from experience that the trucks in that photo are status symbols in exactly the same way a Tesla is. The idea that this is about "rich people" is pretty far off the mark. It's about totally empty cultural signifiers and nothing else.
Who are the nerds sharing anti-tesla stories? I only see this (on the web) from people shorting the stock, spouting ridiculous claims about the company and maybe people who love driving a fancy german sports car. Most nerds I know think the tesla is a fun and cool technical achievement, even if they don't want to waste their money on a hunk of metal.
They may be rich (well, affluent, you don't need to be "rich" to own a Tesla), but they likely live in the town.
I'm from a small town, and there's a small number of people in town that own expensive cars (A Lotus and Lamborghini come to mind), as well as a number of affluent residents that own Teslas.
And it doesn't surprise me at all that those that love their lifted pickups don't like the Tesla owners. Even though though it seems silly to say your $30K - $50K truck with $10K+ of lift kits, tires and engine/exhaust mods is somehow morally superior to someone's $50K Tesla.
I guess whether or not that's "expensive" depends on your financial situation.
The Elise was cheaper, in the $60K range, but unlike a $100K Tesla, most people aren't going to use a $60K or $100K Lotus as a daily driver, it's more of a weekend toy.
When I was growing up most of the dudes driving big lifted trucks were blue-collar mechanic/gearhead types.
Tesla and the EV movement in general is plausibly seen as threatening to these people.
Tesla is banned from even being sold in some states in part because of how they obsolete dealerships (and their associated service departments, which employ local mechanics).
EVs obsolete combustion engines and all the associated service companies and their employees. From the oil/gas industry to the service and maintenance of engines, many people paying attention feel threatened.
So I can at least empathize with these goons on some level, not that I agree with their actions. We're talking about a fundamental shift of a massive global industry, lots of jobs are in the midst of becoming irrelevant. It's not going to happen without any backlash.
If the worse of it is shit like UTI students parking their trucks in charging spots, that'd be kind of incredible.
68 comments
[ 4.4 ms ] story [ 28.9 ms ] threadChild 1 hits Child 2, both children go to detention.
At one time I leased a very desirable parking space in what was a half-private, half-public lot. People would sometimes ignore the warning sign stating that the space was private parking only and violators would be towed.
When I would arrive in the lot and there was someone in my space, I just called any tow company in the phone book and they'd (very rapidly) send out a truck to remove the offending vehicle. All I had to do was sign the bottom of the form attesting that I was the legal user of that space.
This was Texas, so other states may vary.
In Texas theres a phone number, 311, a website and the towing company should also leave a sign at the parking lot entrance/exit with instructions.
Isn't it a civil matter? Does it involve the Police?
I would assume numbered gasoline pumps will see no change. Gas stations can attract purchases from electric car owners by providing low-cost chargers away from the pumps.
If anything, gas station owners are just capturing a new market segment.
(For the record, I'm a big fan of gas station hotdogs and beef jerky.)
I too am a big fan of gas station hotdogs, and I must say one station's dog is about as good as another station's dog. Time spent on the warmer is more important than brand of dog at a gas station.
http://pluginsites.org/plug-in-vehicle-parking-legislation-r...
Disclaimer: Have worked with a municipality to craft their EV legislation using home rule.
There was a story on reddit a few weeks ago where this happened outside a hotel. The hotel staff called the cops who knocked on rooms and found owners.
The tricky part is in a lot of situations it can be hard to find the property owner so they can call the cops. Tow truck companies are careful about having an authorized person request the car to be removed.
To make sure the right towing company is called, the lot owner puts up signs detailing the terms of parking and stating which towing company is responsible for the lot. Every time somebody sees a car parked in violation with the stated rules, they can call that towing company who will show up and tow anybody they can, making a tidy profit from each car they tow (they profit by holding those cars for ransom.)
These signs are a fairly common sight in America: https://i.imgur.com/nPYaOBf.gif This system works, only the occasional idiot will dare testing those signs.
That being said, I prefer it being hard to tow, privately administered ticketing systems are much better. While in this case the pickups are knowingly taking spaces that aren’t theirs, most people I know (including myself) have only ever been towed when they’ve accidentally broken broken a rule, often in a disputable manner. There is no trial or attempt to resolve, property is seized with no chance to appeal a priori, and people’s means of transportation and livelihood are held hostage for payment. It’s really a pretty awful system.
I’ve had an issue with parking in apartments before. I wasn’t able to call and get a car towed. The office staff were the only ones. After hours and late night it was an issue.
In other news the black soot of diesel exhaust is a powerful carcinogen. People who do this are willfully poisoning people so don’t worry too much about calling them out.
Whereas Tesla drivers are probably seen as rich people from out-of-town in a lot of places (because they are rich people from out-of-town.)
Having grown up in a place where people drove pickup trucks for real (as in not purely symbolic) reasons, I can tell you from experience that the trucks in that photo are status symbols in exactly the same way a Tesla is. The idea that this is about "rich people" is pretty far off the mark. It's about totally empty cultural signifiers and nothing else.
I'm from a small town, and there's a small number of people in town that own expensive cars (A Lotus and Lamborghini come to mind), as well as a number of affluent residents that own Teslas.
And it doesn't surprise me at all that those that love their lifted pickups don't like the Tesla owners. Even though though it seems silly to say your $30K - $50K truck with $10K+ of lift kits, tires and engine/exhaust mods is somehow morally superior to someone's $50K Tesla.
https://www.caranddriver.com/lotus
I guess whether or not that's "expensive" depends on your financial situation.
The Elise was cheaper, in the $60K range, but unlike a $100K Tesla, most people aren't going to use a $60K or $100K Lotus as a daily driver, it's more of a weekend toy.
Tesla and the EV movement in general is plausibly seen as threatening to these people.
Tesla is banned from even being sold in some states in part because of how they obsolete dealerships (and their associated service departments, which employ local mechanics).
EVs obsolete combustion engines and all the associated service companies and their employees. From the oil/gas industry to the service and maintenance of engines, many people paying attention feel threatened.
So I can at least empathize with these goons on some level, not that I agree with their actions. We're talking about a fundamental shift of a massive global industry, lots of jobs are in the midst of becoming irrelevant. It's not going to happen without any backlash.
If the worse of it is shit like UTI students parking their trucks in charging spots, that'd be kind of incredible.
Which gave Uber thousands of new customers.