Slashdot Mirror


Anti-Tesla Pickup Truck Drivers Take Over a Supercharger Station -- Again (electrek.co)

An anonymous reader quotes Electrek: In what is quickly becoming a problem for some Tesla drivers, pickup truck drivers have again taken over a Supercharger station and yelled profanities in what appears to be an act of protest against Tesla. Earlier this month, we reported on a strange situation at Tesla's Hickory Supercharger in North Carolina where three large pickup trucks blocked access to the station and reportedly chanted "F*** Tesla"....

Now it looks like it's becoming a trend since another Reddit user spotted pickup truck drivers taking over another Tesla Supercharger. They reportedly were also yelling profanities to Tesla owners coming to charge at the Supercharger station.

Electrek also cites one Tesla owner's reports of being "coal rolled" -- intentionally targetted with extra black exhaust fumes from specially-modified engines.

85 of 719 comments (clear)

  1. Classic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    No better way to convince people they're wrong/dumb than being an asshole to them. These truckers should run for office

    1. Re: Classic by javaman235 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Truckers drive trucks, including Teslaâ(TM)s. These rednecks are in coal/oil, which pumps money in piss poor towns. They have picked a losing fight.

      --
      -The art of programming is the pursuit of absolute simplicity.
    2. Re: Classic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      This is a fake-out. The original reddit post used a cropped photo that deliberately didn't show several vacant recharging stations. That reddit post has since been picked up by various news and blog sites, which has been used as further verification from yet more news sites.

  2. Re:Speak a language they can understand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Tesla owners are scared of guns. They would cry if they saw one.

  3. Just have them towed. by tempest69 · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Really-- call a tow company in there, block them in, and hook up towing gear, and charge them a stiff fee.

    If it isn't a tow away zone then somebody screwed up.

    1. Re:Just have them towed. by haruchai · · Score: 5, Funny

      Really-- call a tow company in there, block them in, and hook up towing gear, and charge them a stiff fee.

      If it isn't a tow away zone then somebody screwed up.

      They don't need a tow truck. Teslas have a lot of low-end torque and a Model S or X could easily drag those pickups out of the parking spots.

      --
      Pain is merely failure leaving the body
    2. Re:Just have them towed. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Really-- call a tow company in there, block them in, and hook up towing gear, and charge them a stiff fee.

      If it isn't a tow away zone then somebody screwed up.

      They don't need a tow truck. Teslas have a lot of low-end torque and a Model S or X could easily drag those pickups out of the parking spots.

      Forget a damn pick-up truck, a Tesla Model X P100D can, and has towed an actual Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. That's a 130 tonne aircraft being pulled 300 meters.

      See one of these many, many articles. Or this one.

      For a Model X, a pick up truck isn't going to be a problem.

    3. Re: Just have them towed. by gagegage · · Score: 5, Informative

      Yep.

      Tesla Model X easily tows Chevy Silverado 1500 from Supercharger in âDe-ICE-ingâ(TM) feat
      https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.teslarati.com/tesla-model-x-tows-chevy-silverado-1500-pickup-truck-de-ice-ing-supercharger/amp/

    4. Re: Just have them towed. by WhiplashII · · Score: 5, Interesting

      This should be stated more clearly: Tesla Model X easily tows Chevy Silverado 1500 with the Chevy's rear wheels locked!

      Pretty cool!

      Although I don't see the point of ICEing. Is this people trying to be stupid for stupid's sake?

      --
      while (sig==sig) sig=!sig;
    5. Re:Just have them towed. by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 4, Informative

      Done in 1972 with a Chevy pickup. Except it wasn't a 787-9, it was a 747 that weighs 170 tons. It's really not that impressive; in fact, here's a man pulling a 142 ton 777. I guess the model X comes up short here...

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    6. Re:Just have them towed. by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 2

      Here you go, actual dynometer measurements - at the wheel. Electrics can be strong and powerful, but they do not rule the road. There are stronger, higher power ICE engines on the road - the Duramax being one (with 850+ lb-ft at the wheels).

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    7. Re: Just have them towed. by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The Trepel Challenger 280 is the recommended tug for the 787; it uses a 180 lb-ft 4 cylinder diesel engine. Probably 80% of cars for sale today have more torque than that. Yep, just about anything can tow a 787.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    8. Re: Just have them towed. by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Gear it down, and anything CAN tow a 787. The GP was correct... If a man can pull a 777, then bragging about how a vehicle can tow a lighter plane really isn't all that smart, is it?

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    9. Re:Just have them towed. by dryeo · · Score: 2

      I loved my diesel when i owned one, but one thing it severely lacked was bottom end torque. Had to get that motor spinning over a grand before it hit its power curve.
      Now steam, 1000+lbs of torque at zero rpm, 0-75 in 5-10 secs (wiki quotes 10, another site, 5, but that might have been Hughes's souped up one) doing 900 rpm at 75. 1500 miles to a tank of water. Drawbacks included that 30 seconds warm up, high periodic maintenance and a price close to $20,000 when a Ford cost $400. Quieter then a Telsa too.
      https://www.hemmings.com/magaz...
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
    10. Re:Just have them towed. by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 2

      The Jay Leno episode with that car was very entertaining! It's a great thing he saves those old cars and lets people learn about them...

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    11. Re: Just have them towed. by h33t+l4x0r · · Score: 2

      Although I don't see the point of ICEing. Is this people trying to be stupid for stupid's sake?

      You've clearly never been to North Carolina.

    12. Re:Just have them towed. by Lonewolf666 · · Score: 2

      Make it a bet, that's more polite anyway.

      Tesla owner walks up to Bob's big old Ford 4x4 and tells Bob "I bet I can tow your Ford over 50 feet even if you have the brakes applied". Bob might agree, being sure of winning. Now we have a contest where nobody gets shot. We might even get a YouTube video out of it :)

      --
      C - the footgun of programming languages
    13. Re:Just have them towed. by 605dave · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Your tag line is great. I assume you are trying to say if you want to regulate business and guns, and provide healthcare that you are a Nazi?

      Here let me try.

      The Nazi Party: Militaristic, anti-Immigrant, anti-Gay, anti-Minority, aggressive and resentful of how history has treated our kind. Make Germany Great Again!

      --
      Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a difficult battle. - Plato
    14. Re: Just have them towed. by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      And not even allowed to have a passenger due to the 3500kg weight limit of cars.

      What? What are you on about? Every vehicle has its own gross weight allowance.

      There's a reason pickup trucks are not popular in Europe.

      The lads on Top Gear (at the time) stated that you had vans instead of pickups because if you had a pickup, someone would nick stuff out of the bed every time you stopped at a red light. Here in the USA, we seem to have much less of that kind of crime for some reason. It's not that nobody ever steals anything out of a pickup truck, but for the most part you can drive from place to place picking stuff up without worrying about it unless you are foolish enough to put items in the back which are both small and valuable. Of course, if you park your vehicle and leave it long, someone might break a window just to steal some change in your cup holder, but that holds true around most of the world.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    15. Re:Just have them towed. by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 3, Informative

      This one. The operating empty weight of a 747-100 is around 172 tons. That was the model pulled in the 1972 commercial.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    16. Re:Just have them towed. by rainer_d · · Score: 2

      AFAIK, the problem is not towing (though that in itself is usually not too good for the gearbox) but braking.

      I saw a video of a VW Touareg (V10) towing such a jet. While the Touareg needed extra sandbags to improve traction, the driver said the techs had told him not to use the brakes, under any circumstances. They certainly weren't designed for such a weight.

      --
      Windows 2000 - from the guys who brought us edlin
    17. Re:Just have them towed. by azcoyote · · Score: 2

      I think it's funny that the YouTube video of the Austrian man pulling the 777 has this disclaimer: "RT is funded in whole or in part by the Russian government." Clearly somebody is worried about propaganda or "fake news," but I find it hard to decipher how this video might secretly be a covert disinformation attack against the West. Perhaps it's supposed to trick the U.S. Air Force into hiring a fleet of Austrians to pull their airplanes into position? Am I missing something?

      --
      Incipiamus, fratres, servire Domino Deo, quia hucusque vix vel parum in nullo profecimus.
  4. Re:Good for them. by Stormy+Dragon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We will replace you. And all your coal rolling desperation does is tell us you know it too.

  5. So, just call the police. by bob4u2c · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Take our your cell phone, take pictures of the trucks (and license plates if you can). Then call the police and report that trucks are blocking a public entrance. When the cops finally show up, show them the pictures and file a report.

    How hard is that?

    Or I guess you could just pull out your guns and have a showdown. Seriously are people this stupid?

    1. Re:So, just call the police. by fustakrakich · · Score: 5, Funny

      Seriously are people this stupid?

      If you don't know, you don't want to.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    2. Re:So, just call the police. by rekoil · · Score: 2

      Great idea, except that the current that gets pulled from a Supercharger would melt a standard extension cord to slag in seconds.

    3. Re:So, just call the police. by n3r0.m4dski11z · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This is america we are talking about. Those rednecks are probably the cops themselves.

      --
      -
    4. Re:So, just call the police. by imidan · · Score: 2

      Yeah, until goddamn the hillbillies beat the shit out of you and destroy your phone. Putting yourself into physical confrontation with that kind of person, and threatening them with the police, is a great way to find out just how stupid they are.

      Getting into a gunfight with them is likely to result in either your death or felony charges.

    5. Re:So, just call the police. by h33t+l4x0r · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Exactly. It's a dick move, but not a crime.
      The best response is to tweet a pic of the trucks and hope the owners get forever doxxed out of any job that pays above minumum wage.

      That'll learn 'em!

  6. Gee what a surprise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Redneck trump supporters being total dickheads. Not surprised by this at all.

  7. Re: Speak a language they can understand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Those that publicly claim to be a gun owner are seldom capable of effectively using a firearm. Beware of the person with a single firearm ... and keeps it a secret.

  8. Hehe by Alwin+Henseler · · Score: 5, Insightful

    First they ignore Tesla
    Then they laugh at Tesla
    Then they fight Tesla <--
    Then Tesla wins

    1. Re:Hehe by Calydor · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Please point to where oil and coal companies aren't getting subsidized but getting by entirely on their own merit.

      --
      -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
    2. Re:Hehe by michelcolman · · Score: 2

      Well, their sales figures are solidly beating BMW's in the US right now...

  9. They'll do it as long as they get attention... by ClarkMills · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I suspect that it's a ploy to dissuade buying electric by presenting a "Electric car owners will be bullied" sentiment. I have no doubt it's orchestrated as I am sure the drivers or the utes have better things to do really.

    The inevitable EV revolution is being attacked on many fronts.

  10. I really don’t get it by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What exactly do the truck drivers think they’re accomplishing? And what do they think they’re protesting?

    I realize these guys are likely not the brightest bulbs in the box... but seriously, they must have at least a vaguely-defined reason they are choosing to do this.

    --
    #DeleteChrome
    1. Re:I really don’t get it by mysidia · · Score: 5, Interesting

      My feeling is many of the people that own and drive personal pickup trucks all the time; even when they're not actually hauling anything are self-centered arrogant SOBs who compare p***s links with each other; couldn't care less about being green, and often either don't think the rules apply to them -- or challenge the rules frequently through open defiance, Such as parking as to straddle two parking spaces, ignoring the lines, double parking locking people in, pulling in parallel to perpendicular parking, or pulling in perpendicular to parallel parking, etc.

      Many Supercharger stations are in sectioned off area of a larger parking lot ---
      the pickup drivers' ego is probably irked that someone else is special, other than them. Tesla drivers get dedicated Tesla-only "parking" areas in a crowded space, and that alone drives them batshit insane.

    2. Re:I really don’t get it by rtb61 · · Score: 2

      They are protesting the size of their brains. They feel short changed, unfairly discriminated against, victims of tiny brain syndrome, being born a dumb loser, being human genetics bitch, fucked in the head, from conception to death, unfairly victimised by everyone in society smarter than them.

      Is it fair and reasonable for those born genetically, well, stupid, to be so victimised by society, at the very bottom of the pay scale, doesn't not matter, colour, creed or religion, born to a shitty minimum wage with no escape, well, unless they have a smarter parent (only needs one to be smart, to support the others) to sponsor well the dummy in a smarter world.

      It's not fair, they might well be annoying arseholes well deserving of being losers but being born that way doesn't mean they should be victimised for it, sure kept at arms distance but those well behaved enough deserve a living wage and to not be ruthlessly exploited. When they are, they play up and become a problem for the normies, stop being prejudiced against them in their chance at a reasonable life.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    3. Re:I really don’t get it by sjames · · Score: 2

      Not so sure. These are the same people who spend hundreds adding a switch to detune their engine so it will blow clouds of soot. They tend to use it to blow soot at economy cars as well as electric and hybrid.

    4. Re:I really don’t get it by Locutus · · Score: 4, Informative

      Most likely it is because they keep hearing EV's are the future, that gasoline and diesel fuel is wrong and you know, the whole 'global warming is fake' thing. Probably listen to guys like Rush and Alex who'll say anything so they've probably heard there'd be people coming to take their truck away from them like the Gun Police they constantly talk about coming to collect their guns. So all of This gets focused on those who are proving EVs are viable.

      --
      "Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
    5. Re:I really don’t get it by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Treating them as bizarre space aliens instead of fellow Americans who should have their needs cared for just like everyone else is the problem. You're dividing us into US and THEM. Vladimir Putin would be proud. He has to pay people to incite rhetoric like this; you're doing it for free.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    6. Re:I really don’t get it by tfried · · Score: 2

      They're protesting the (anticipated) change in social norms.

      For a long time, in America, you could count on any "green" idea to be laughed at by a solid majority, either for being totally unrealistic, or for being obviously un-American. Thus no sane American would ever be expected to adjust their personal lifestyle towards anything green.

      Now, there is increasing evidence that some green ideas are not so unrealistic at all. (I hesitate a bit to call Tesla "green", but clearly they are riding that wave, and have a green reputation). Those pickup drivers are rightfully afraid that, in a decade or two, their own true American neighbors, too, will expected them to switch to EV vehicles, and possibly even to pick up other green ideas, as well. And they don't want to.

      Of course, class issues do play a role, too, as Teslas are also relatively costly, but I think at the heart of the issue that is a plain and simple fear, that their personal lifestyle is going to have to change, eventually. (The list of fears is long, here, I'll just throw in "vegetarianism" to illustrate the scope of the threat.)

      Bicyclists are even worse "traitors", for obvious reasons, but since those are still so few, and so "obviously" laughable, they are not a real threat, yet.

    7. Re:I really don’t get it by buddyglass · · Score: 2

      What exactly do the truck drivers think they’re accomplishing? And what do they think they’re protesting?

      Just guessing here. Accomplishing: irritating Tesla owners, making it less convenient to own a Tesla. Protesting: subsidies to Tesla, people who don't like fossil fuels, environmentalism in general.

    8. Re:I really don’t get it by squiggleslash · · Score: 2

      Just curious, but are you really saying that people who intentionally block others from using a service because of some bizarre prejudice are not assholes?

      Your comment is far more Ivanish than the GP. The vast majority of blue collar workers wouldn't do this. Your attempt to equate a bunch of assholes with generic blue collar workers, and then complain that people who criticize the assholes are "dividing the country", is a dick move, and exactly the kind of thing the trolls promote.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    9. Re:I really don’t get it by mysidia · · Score: 2

      Pickups aren't usually that fuel inefficient, maybe 20 mpg instead of 30

      More like 20 mpg City, 23 mpg Highway Instead of: 30 mpg City, 40 mpg Highway.

      Driving only 2/3 the miles is kind of a big deal; it means you need 1.5x as much fuel which also means 1.5x as much
      fuel cost, for city driving, and 2x as much fuel and 2x as much cost for highway driving.

      For an average driver, that's $1600 a year in gas, instead of $800.

      And there's a simple solution for occasional hauling --- fit your car with a towing hitch, and get a small trailer.
      As I was saying.... Pickup Trucks don't make any economic sense at all to purchase, unless its a work truck, and you
      have a special professional justification or good reason to be hauling a lot of stuff with every or nearly every ride.
      Otherwise, it makes
      more sense to own both car and pickup --- one or both vehicles purchased used, and use pickup only when necessary.

      The environmental impact for manufacturing such vehicle is ~5 Tons of CO2; approximately the same as 1 year's worth of driving.

  11. Re:Speak a language they can understand by vux984 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I have a Tesla and own several guns. If this was happening to me, I would construe it as a threat upon my being and I wouldn't hesitate to put the assailant(s) to death.

    This is why a mental health assessment should be required for both gun ownership and a drivers license. You should have neither.

  12. Re:Speak a language they can understand by iggymanz · · Score: 4, Funny

    your airsoft gun will just make them angry, basement dweller. besides, you'll get a sunburn.

  13. LOLZ - mostly not happening by iggymanz · · Score: 3, Interesting

    We have quite a few of those recharging station at the malls and railroad stations around here, 16 within 2 miles of me..... never seen them blocked by anything or anyone, ever.

    1. Re:LOLZ - mostly not happening by iggymanz · · Score: 5, Informative

      no one asked for article implying incidents at a whopping total of 3 stations out of 16,000+ were indicative of anything either.

      I live near one of the largest cities in the United States (also one of the "top ten EV friendly cities"), nothing like that has ever been reported here.

      In short, what this article is trying to make a news item out of, mostly is not happening anywhere, to anyone.

    2. Re:LOLZ - mostly not happening by jeff4747 · · Score: 2

      Yes, if you personally have not experienced it, it can not possibly happen.

    3. Re:LOLZ - mostly not happening by Tugrik · · Score: 2

      I've not seen any group efforts to block superchargers but this week I did see a single incident. I pulled into a supercharger station in Sandy, OR and plugged in to get a top off. I was the only Tesla there using them at the time. At the end of the row, however, was a huge diesel van; one of those 'earthroamer' types that was jacked up on high suspension with big tires, parked sideways across three of the spots.

      A few minutes later the driver got back to his vehicle. He saw me sitting in my model 3, flipped me off, got in his van and took off with a good bit of tire squealing. No other communication; just a flip of the bird and he was gone.

      Then I see this /. story and have to wonder how often this kinda thing happens. It was mostly just puzzling. :)

  14. Nice... by skam240 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Nice, have these idiots vehicles legally towed and let them enjoy their ridiculous impound fees that most communities have. Maybe they'll direct their far right rage towards the bullshit government attitude towards the privatization of impound lots. Your car was towed on a Friday? Good luck low income person being able to afford getting your car out of impound on Monday.

    --
    I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
  15. Prius drivers in good company by WaffleMonster · · Score: 2
  16. Re:Speak a language they can understand by MrKaos · · Score: 4, Funny

    Tesla owners are scared of guns. They would cry if they saw one.

    They seem pretty fond of flamethrowers though.

    --
    My ism, it's full of beliefs.
  17. I'm just spitballing here by rsilvergun · · Score: 4, Insightful

    but they're probably angry at technocrat elites. If they're blue collar types odds are good they listen to right wing media which is often on the warpath against silicon valley and the like. Plus if they're blue collar then odds are good they're not doing so hot economically since blue collar types got hammered in the last recession and never really recovered.

    Still, I could be totally wrong. Like the author if TFA I'd love to just ask them why.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:I'm just spitballing here by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      A lot of them just seem to enjoy upsetting "liberals", in the broadest possible sense.

      They feel that "liberals" had to good under Obama, with a lot of changes in their favour like marriage equality and other rights, and a general recognition by society that some behaviour was no longer acceptable. Now they feel things are swinging back the other way and are emboldened to to this kind of stuff.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    2. Re:I'm just spitballing here by SvnLyrBrto · · Score: 2

      You might try checking out the pricing of pickup trucks.

      I had a quick look over at ford.com today. And unless you're settling for the most bare-bones Ranger (Which is already ridonklously overpriced at $25K.); you're spending quite a pretty penny. With the F-series, which the googles tell me is the best-selling pickup of the lot of them; a middle-of-the-pack setup will put you well into the pricing of a nicely equipped BMW 2, 3, or 4-series, mid-range Infinitis or Lexuses (Lexuii???), or a very nice 370Z. And a fully-equipped F-series? Try $95K. At that point, you're spending as much on your pickup truck as one would on a Model S 100D w/ autopilot, a nicely-equipped M-series, or even a low-end 911.

      Oh, and that $25K Ranger? That is, as I said, only the most basic bare-bones model you can get. Equipped, the Ranger averages $35K and can hit $45K fully-loaded.

      So I'm not, for a second, buying into the "not doing so hot economically since blue collar types got hammered in the last recession and never really recovered" line. People who aren't doing so hot economically aren't dropping $35K-$60K, and higher, on trucks so they can sit around (not working) at Superchargers to harass and threaten Tesla owners. Hell, I AM doing pretty well financially right now; and I'm still driving my $17.5K Mazda3, and the only way I see myself upgrading to *anything* else in the near-term is if the redesign includes a new Speed3 or if Subaru brings back the hatchback WRX.

      --
      Imagine all the people...
    3. Re:I'm just spitballing here by mcvos · · Score: 2

      if they're blue collar then odds are good they're not doing so hot economically since blue collar types got hammered in the last recession and never really recovered.

      It's a wild guess, but they might even be voting for the party that keeps hammering blue collar types.

  18. Re:Speak a language they can understand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Then I have good news for you: He has neither.

  19. Re: Speak a language they can understand by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 2

    I know a guy with two firearm. His name is Johnny Storm.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  20. Re: Just a response to smugness by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Taxes are how evil liberal Muslim gay atheists steal the pretty women from us real Muricans. Fucking bastards with their "good higene" and elitist "literacy".

    Trumps gonna build that wall with clean coal and make murica great like back in the fifties!

  21. Re:Speak a language they can understand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Shooting someone because they inconvenienced you is pretty much always considered illegal. There is no threat to life, so no reason to shoot. Yes, someone who wants to do what the GP stated he did is either mentally unstable or clearly acting with criminal intent.

  22. Yes, he does know how taxes work. by thesupraman · · Score: 2

    Actually I think you dont have a clue how taxes work.

    What the grantparent said is true. Both teslas and charging stations are subsidized by taxes.
    As of course are a lot of other things, however it does not make it untrue.

  23. Sooner or later by jd · · Score: 2

    Someone is going to die.

    Whether it's a pregnant woman being driven to hospital in a Tesla dying of complications, a kid getting hit by something thrown, raised tempers turning ugly, someone failing to stop in time for the parked cars...

    And the truckers will deny it has anything to do with them. Legally, they'd probably be right. Blood on innocent hands.

    The Tesla drivers will deny any blame, too, if it's a case of raised tempers. Stand your ground is a legal defence.

    It wouldn't matter if they had to stack the bodies in a double 40' trailer. Nobody's guilty here, your honor.

    Who the hell gives a shit what you think of such and such a political ideology that nobody here can define anyway. Who the hell cares what you think of Tesla or truckers?

    Is the absolute certainty of accidental death of someone who has nothimg to do with either side a desired outcome? This isn't whatiffery, this is guaranteed if these incidents keep happening.

    At what point is it more important to find and apply a fix than to whine about the bug?

    My guess is never. The days when getting things done mattered are long over.

    Now get off my lawn!

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  24. Re:Speak a language they can understand by Dog-Cow · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They aren't protesting anything. They are just being jackasses. I think the pickups should be crushed into little cubes. It would not particularly upset me if the owners were inside during the operation.

  25. Define 'quickly becoming a problem' by kenh · · Score: 4, Interesting

    In what is quickly becoming a problem for some Tesla drivers

    It's happened TWICE - that's the same number of times Hillary lost her bid for President...

    Let's not over-react.

    --
    Ken
  26. Why don't you try to UNDERSTAND the other side ? by Btrot69 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm a suburbanite and I've been driving a hybrid Camry since 2007 and I like it.
    But I don't think that insulting these truck owners (or vice versa) is going to help anybody.

    I think that electric vehicles pose a very real threat to the jobs and the future of many rural Americans, who feel that their work depends on trucks, cars, vehicle repair, oil, oil equipment, coal, scrap yards, etc, etc.

    That is especially the case today, when Tesla has been publicizing the success of their SELF-DRIVING electric SEMI-trucks. Tesla says that in a convoy, they are more energy efficient than trains. They even have a standing order for HUNDREDS of these new trucks from Walmart, rural America's love/hate store/employer.

    For years, the only way that a rural American could escape and see the world was to either drive a truck or work on the railroad.
    Its a fundamental part of American culture, and it doesn't escape these people that Tesla's development poses a tangible threat to that way of life.

    There are political and economic solutions that could provide jobs AND save the environment, but its not going to happen by spewing all this filth.

  27. Re:Speak a language they can understand by Hortense+Yaya · · Score: 3, Funny

    Tesla owners have laser pistols.

  28. Redneck snowflakes are the worst. by neiras · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I don't think that insulting these truck owners (or vice versa) is going to help anybody.

    Fuck these fragile snowflakes who are so afraid of change that they'll go park their trucks in front of another guy's filling station. That's small ball. You don't see Tesla owners blockading filling stations.

    They don't get to be assholes and expect that anyone will listen to them. The American Yahoo is something to be derided and mocked. I've met them - if you aren't like them, you're their plaything or their enemy. They'll screw you mercilessly if they have an angle, and they'll laugh to their buddies about it later.

    For years, the only way that a rural American could escape and see the world was to either drive a truck or work on the railroad. Its a fundamental part of American culture, and it doesn't escape these people that Tesla's development poses a tangible threat to that way of life.

    Railways will continue to exist. Trucks will continue to exist. The rednecks will still be able to hoot and holler and do doughnuts in walmart parking lots at midnight. Soon they'll be able to stagger out of their shitty bars and have their trucks drive them home without the usual DUI along the way. You don't need to be doing the driving to see the country.

    I think that electric vehicles pose a very real threat to the jobs and the future of many rural Americans, who feel that their work depends on trucks, cars, vehicle repair, oil, oil equipment, coal, scrap yards, etc, etc.

    The fact is, moving goods around and monkey-wrenching are not going to be fallback jobs for Joe Schmoe anymore. They only ever paid reasonably well because they're shit jobs that no one with half a brain wants. Those jobs will go away, because it's cheaper and more pleasant to deal with a self-driving vehicle than it is to deal with Joe Schmoe. Time for Joe to do something with his life.

    1. Re:Redneck snowflakes are the worst. by Jeremi · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah, those pickup truck drivers are the REAL victims here! They should be allowed to molest Tesla drivers in peace! How dare someone harshly criticize them -- on the Internet, no less! -- simply for exercising their right to be assholes? It's a horrible injustice, I say!

      --


      I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
  29. Re:Good for them. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I don't see any reason to be so personal or vengeful on the attacks. Tesla runs on electricity, which can be made with many things, including coal. That is not the choice Tesla owners get to make. Tesla owners get to make the choice of not having to decide what form of energy to use, and at over 100 MPGe, they are using a lot less of whatever it is.

    If you get in a Tesla, and put your foot on the accelerator, you have to like what happens next, it is pretty awesome. And if you are somehow tied to ICE engines financially, you have to worry about what happens next. There are few and declining reasons to cling to a gasoline car for the vast majority of the population.

    Now if it's Tesla in particular they loathe, take the trucks out of the EV charge slots, which is inevitably going to result in a lot of fines and impound fees, and fund an EV car company that makes a cheaper car. I do not think Tesla's place in the automotive universe is certain. They make the best product, but they're up against an industry that knows how to make "just good enough" into a weapon, and they're still at a price point which isn't attainable to the masses.

  30. Re:Speak a language they can understand by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 4, Funny

    Actually, Tesla owners have phased plasma rifles in the 40 watt range. At least the ones in the early-experience program do.

  31. Re:Speak a language they can understand by basecastula+ · · Score: 2

    Hit TV show right there.

  32. Re:Speak a language they can understand by Barsteward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    unfortunately there are far too many irresponsible gun owners out there with shit for brains

    --
    "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
  33. Re:Bullshit by Barsteward · · Score: 2

    they are "smug" because they have an EV? that chip on your shoulder must be getting heavy.

    --
    "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
  34. Re: Good for them. by Barsteward · · Score: 2

    "f it's their tax money being wasted on some asshole Tesla driver." how does that compare to all the tax money being used to prop up a dying industry from the 2 centuries ago?

    --
    "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
  35. Re:There's no need for them to "fuck" Tesla ... by Lonewolf666 · · Score: 2

    Well, many of the people driving the car would have loved to buy it from General Motors. But GM preferred to have them scrapped at the end of the leasing period.
    So this one seems to be a case of politically wanted (by GM itself) failure.

    Now we go into round two with much more capable cars by multiple manufacturers. The Chevrolet Bolt and the Hyundai Kona Electric come to mind. And of course, the Tesla Model 3. Not exactly the cheapest cars, but much more serious competition this time than the GM EV.

    --
    C - the footgun of programming languages
  36. Land of the free by k2r · · Score: 2

    home of the stupid bullies.

    Trump as a President fits perfectly.

  37. Re:Bullshit by mukinrestak · · Score: 2

    One of the lesser known functions of the highway system is for national defense. It's not just about civilian shit.

    Also, those non-urban areas have people that pay their taxes just like the urban areas.

    Also, again, those highways to nowhere are what connect your urban areas together so you can move between them, and connect farms to your grocery stores so you have food to eat.

  38. Re:Speak a language they can understand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The right-wing in the USA operates under a lot of myths that they tell themselves about the other side. One thing they believe is that if it ever "came down to it" their side would obviously win in any kind of civil war that they like to fantasize about.

    It's because they operate under the belief that they must be an entirely homogenous group so the other side must be as well. Since they perceive the "typical" left-winger as some kind of weak willed pansy they assume they must all be like that.

    Which as an aside, a right-wing myth is in play with the gov't shutdown as well, which is the right-wing pushes the narrative that almost all gov't employees are democrats that are leaching off their tax dollars when the reality is the gov't employees are split much in the same proportions as the rest of the country, about 30% republican, about 30% democrat, and the rest independents.

    You also see it in rhetoric about who receives gov't social welfare benefits. They love to present the myth of them all being inner city and minority when the reality is that there are more rural whites receiving social welfare benefits than city minorities.

    But back to my original point, one myth they love is that republicans surely have all the guns and make up all the military and law enforcement when the reality is that an estimated 45% of guns are in the hands of democrats and that while it's true republicans have a majority in military and law enforcement, it's only a little more than half.

    In spite of what the NRA likes to push there are loads of gun owners and enthusiasts who see no issue with some common sense regulation around guns, and that's not just democrat gun owners but republicans as well.

  39. Re:Time to split the USA by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

    Amiably agree to just split, no civil war necessary. The middle and the South get their "news" from Fox, Breitbart, and AM pundits

    This is how it looks if you ignore reality. But in fact, much of the south has become extremely progressive. Their votes are being miscounted or just made irrelevant (through gerrymandering) to keep the conservatives in charge, but several of those states (notably including Texas) would probably be blue today if not for gerrymandering. We need to pull through this thing together. Giving up on the union is what Putin wants. Don't be his useful idiot.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  40. Re: Speak a language they can understand by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

    "diagnosis of "mental illness" has been used to suppress political dissent by many different tyrannical regimes."

    Some people are dangerous, unstable, and crazy regardless of who is in charge.

    You're both right. And sometimes, someone dangerous, unstable, and crazy is in charge...

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  41. Good for the goose, good for the gander by tomhath · · Score: 2

    "...if you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd. And you push back on them. And you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.” - Maxine Waters

    "at a gasoline station"...hmmm? Maybe it isn't a good idea to incite that kind of activity.

  42. Farmers ruin your therory by Dusanyu · · Score: 2

    I will admit my Father drives a Pickup but, he is a farmer he has his truck for Farm things, Like most farmers he will drive and repair his truck until it needs to be replaced. As such he also can't afford to own a car as well so my parents drive the farm truck into town to get food, banking ext. This may also surprise you but most farmers are very environmentally aware (after all one bad season or storm can make them loose the farm. so they combine trips. It is a forgone conclusion that your average farmer is not parking at a fast charger or "Rolling Coal" they are too busy for that sort of thing. Parking in these lanes is childish, but so is looking down at people who drive a truck out of pure necessity.

  43. Re: Rethuglicans loved using it. by cyber-vandal · · Score: 2

    Sorry to disappoint but I'm not a Republican, or a Democrat for that matter. Quite frankly I wish all you extremists, left and right, would take your hate and prejudice and fuck off.