Tesla drivers complaint of increasing acts of road rage against them

  • Tesla drivers are reportedly being routinely heckled, cut off in traffic, and blocked from charging stations.
File photo of the inside of a Tesla vehicle used for representational purpose only (REUTERS)
File photo of the inside of a Tesla vehicle used for representational purpose only

Owners of Tesla vehicles are reporting increasing cases of facing hate on road and at the charges, seemingly fueled either by a hatred of the company's CEO, Elon Musk, or a broader contempt towards electric vehicles in general. As per an Axios report, Tesla drivers are routinely heckled, cut off in traffic, and blocked from charging stations.

There have also been instances where other drivers rolled coal onto their electric vehicles, or facing situations of ICEing, where drivers of combustion-powered cars block access to charge points.

In a separate report in August, it was said that though owners of Tesla cars are happy with their vehicles, they wish the company’s CEO was less controversial. For example, Elon Musk's move of un-banning Donald Trump on Twitter while taking a conservative standpoint, opens up the Tesla brand to a new barrage of disapproval from traditional liberal EV zealots.

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However, as per a Guardian survey, the hostilities are pointed toward electric vehicles in general. “People cut us off on the freeway, give us the finger, yell at me through the windows," one Tesla owner Theresa Ramsdell from the Bellevue, Washington, area, told the publication.

Many others quoted have come across similar, with Tesla drivers reporting that they’re flipped off, cut off, and generally given disparaging looks more so than when they drive any other kind of car.

Though currently, Tesla leads in markets sales of electric vehicles, the legacy automakers have started catching up. However, time will tell if Musk's controversial nature will have an impact on how consumers treat Teslas in the future.

First Published Date: 06 Dec 2022, 10:23 AM IST
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