Why all the violent behavior while charging? Recent experience while using a Tesla Supercharger.

[Discwizard70]

So..... crazy charging session today. I was traveling CA99 to from Stockton to Fresno and I decided to stop for a charge at a Tesla Supercharger in Merced, CA. I chose to stop there because of a Subway Sandwich was located there that I could eat while charging. When I pulled into the stall, a guy in a white Tesla began to flap his arms and dropped his jaw at me. I get out with my adapter, and he yelled, "Can't you f'ing read", and points to the sign that I circled in the attached photo, then says" They don't serve your kind here! " (Reminded me of a Star Wars scene!) I calmly looked at him, plugged the cord into my Lightning, then said, " Me sorry, me no English." As my charging session starts, he waved his hands and walks back to his car, says," Idiot" out loud.
Less than 30 seconds passes by, and I see a white Toyota roll by slowly with the window down, looks me dead in the eye, and yells, " F___ Elon Musk! Take your Cyber Truck and shove it!" I look around behind me, and noticed that I was the only truck in the lot, then the 1st guy in the white Tesla rolls his window down, points at me and says"Haa-haaa! " (Like the Simpsons!)
All I could think of was that this charging station is full of knuckleheads, and that the guy in the white Tesla has no original content.
But what is up with all that behavior?.... I have been to Merced a few times and everybody seemed polite?!
Anybody else experience any weirdos like this before at a charging station?
Also, obviously, I do speak English, but it was a calm way to get him to not flare up.

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[watts/up]

Unfortunately, this is the world that we live in. Personally I do whatever I can to not use Superchargers but I know that sometimes it can’t be avoided. Stay safe out there.

 

[WaterboyNorCal]

So..... crazy charging session today. I was traveling CA99 to from Stockton to Fresno and I decided to stop for a charge at a Tesla Supercharger in Merced, CA. I chose to stop there because of a Subway Sandwich was located there that I could eat while charging. When I pulled into the stall, a guy in a white Tesla began to flap his arms and dropped his jaw at me. I get out with my adapter, and he yelled, "Can't you f'ing read", and points to the sign that I circled in the attached photo, then says" They don't serve your kind here! " (Reminded me of a Star Wars scene!) I calmly looked at him, plugged the cord into my Lightning, then said, " Me sorry, me no English." As my charging session starts, he waved his hands and walks back to his car, says," Idiot" out loud.
Less than 30 seconds passes by, and I see a white Toyota roll by slowly with the window down, looks me dead in the eye, and yells, " F___ Elon Musk! Take your Cyber Truck and shove it!" I look around behind me, and noticed that I was the only truck in the lot, then the 1st guy in the white Tesla rolls his window down, points at me and says"Haa-haaa! " (Like the Simpsons!)
All I could think of was that this charging station is full of knuckleheads, and that the guy in the white Tesla has no original content.
But what is up with all that behavior?.... I have been to Merced a few times and everybody seemed polite?!
Anybody else experience any weirdos like this before at a charging station?
Also, obviously, I do speak English, but it was a calm way to get him to not flare up.

You have much more restraint than I would have had. I don’t think I would have been able to walk away without giving this guy a piece of my mind, because clearly he’s the one with the reading comprehension of a moron.

Why do these things happen sometimes? Because a surprisingly large percentage of the population are a-holes, and not very intelligent ones. This guy was simply a misinformed jerk. In general I have been lucky and had really positive experiences at Tesla Superchargers. EA stations, have, for me, been more problematic with people getting upset over the queues or berating someone for charging over 80%. Honestly, the decision to have a large public-facing screen showing the SOC is dumb. It’s nobody’s business if I need to charge past 80% to get where I’m going. What might help, in addition to a queue system that’s smartphone-based (similar to taking a ticket at the deli counter), is raising the price per kWh substantially over 80% SOC. I would be willing to pay a little more for the rare occasions when I need a bit more juice.

 

[K6CCC]

I have never had any issues at Tesla Superchargers.

Honestly, the decision to have a large public-facing screen showing the SOC is dumb.

What are you doing that results in a screen showing your SOC during charge? My center screen and dash are dark unless I turn the truck on and then it's only a very small number on the dash. The only thing visible that gives any indication of SOC is the 5 blue segments around the charge stop button.

 

[WaterboyNorCal]

I have never had any issues at Tesla Superchargers.



What are you doing that results in a screen showing your SOC during charge? My center screen and dash are dark unless I turn the truck on and then it's only a very small number on the dash. The only thing visible that gives any indication of SOC is the 5 blue segments around the charge stop button.

Sorry- I should have been more clear. At EA stations, EV Go, Chargepoint, etc, there are large screens on the chargers themselves that show SOC. I have had people twice remove the CCS hose from my Lightning because they saw that I was over 80% and decided that they were going to end my session because they wanted to use the charger. I strongly prefer the Tesla chargers because nobody knows your SOC.

 

[Discwizard70]

You have much more restraint than I would have had. I don’t think I would have been able to walk away without giving this guy a piece of my mind, because clearly he’s the one with the reading comprehension of a moron.

Why do these things happen sometimes? Because a surprisingly large percentage of the population are a-holes, and not very intelligent ones. This guy was simply a misinformed jerk. In general I have been lucky and had really positive experiences at Tesla Superchargers. EA stations, have, for me, been more problematic with people getting upset over the queues or berating someone for charging over 80%. Honestly, the decision to have a large public-facing screen showing the SOC is dumb. It’s nobody’s business if I need to charge past 80% to get where I’m going. What might help, in addition to a queue system that’s smartphone-based (similar to taking a ticket at the deli counter), is raising the price per kWh substantially over 80% SOC. I would be willing to pay a little more for the rare occasions when I need a bit more juice.

I have had my truck about a year, and have charged at just about every type of station, including Tesla, and most interactions are regarding people asking about how I like the truck, the features, etc. Most everyone is at least decent, but today was way different. It was over 100 degrees, so maybe everyone was a little extra irritated, but this was crazy.
As far as restraint, 2 things held me, one is I was working (I am a traveling Auto Inspector) and two, I am a retired Marine, and have been in so many high stress situations with much higher stakes than this, so thus, the de-escalation tactics.

 

[jimparisejr]

So..... crazy charging session today. I was traveling CA99 to from Stockton to Fresno and I decided to stop for a charge at a Tesla Supercharger in Merced, CA. I chose to stop there because of a Subway Sandwich was located there that I could eat while charging. When I pulled into the stall, a guy in a white Tesla began to flap his arms and dropped his jaw at me. I get out with my adapter, and he yelled, "Can't you f'ing read", and points to the sign that I circled in the attached photo, then says" They don't serve your kind here! " (Reminded me of a Star Wars scene!) I calmly looked at him, plugged the cord into my Lightning, then said, " Me sorry, me no English." As my charging session starts, he waved his hands and walks back to his car, says," Idiot" out loud.
Less than 30 seconds passes by, and I see a white Toyota roll by slowly with the window down, looks me dead in the eye, and yells, " F___ Elon Musk! Take your Cyber Truck and shove it!" I look around behind me, and noticed that I was the only truck in the lot, then the 1st guy in the white Tesla rolls his window down, points at me and says"Haa-haaa! " (Like the Simpsons!)
All I could think of was that this charging station is full of knuckleheads, and that the guy in the white Tesla has no original content.
But what is up with all that behavior?.... I have been to Merced a few times and everybody seemed polite?!
Anybody else experience any weirdos like this before at a charging station?
Also, obviously, I do speak English, but it was a calm way to get him to not flare up.

 

[Discwizard70]

Sorry- I should have been more clear. At EA stations, EV Go, Chargepoint, etc, there are large screens on the chargers themselves that show SOC. I have had people twice remove the CCS hose from my Lightning because they saw that I was over 80% and decided that they were going to end my session because they wanted to use the charger. I strongly prefer the Tesla chargers because nobody knows your SOC.

I was using my phone for another work related task just prior, so I just keep that screen up so I can see the percent, and once I reach 80%, I disconnect to follow the unwritten rules. That being said, if the station is uncrowded, and I have a longer trip, I do go beyond 80%, but it is rare.

 

[K6CCC]

Sorry- I should have been more clear. At EA stations, EV Go, Chargepoint, etc, there are large screens on the chargers themselves that show SOC. I have had people twice remove the CCS hose from my Lightning because they saw that I was over 80% and decided that they were going to end my session because they wanted to use the charger. I strongly prefer the Tesla chargers because nobody knows your SOC.

Got it. Out of 84 charge sessions I have only used EA once, and ChargePoint twice, so did not think about a display on the charger - but you are right, they did show SOC.

I have twice had someone unplug me - both times at work on the L2 public charging (currently free, so in high demand). On the first one, I was 5 minutes from unplugging anyway, but the second time I was only an hour or so into the charge. I was annoyed so I went out and unplugged them and plugged my truck back in and left a note on their window advising that it was in bad form to unplug other vehicles. The car still had the new car temp license plate so assuming it was a brand new EV driver - so MAYBE they did not know any better.

Like DiskWizard70, most of the time I am charging I at least sort of keep an eye on my phone to see status.

 

[WaterboyNorCal]

Totally understand. I’m retired law enforcement and although de-escalation is what I would be doing 99% of the time, there are also times to politely explain to people why I have the same right to charge my truck at a Tesla station as anyone else. I have generally been pleasantly surprised how friendly Tesla drivers have been now that we are filling “their” Superchargers with our Fords. I actually see quite a few Lightnings during road trips, and the Lightning drivers are consistently really nice and interesting people. I also agree with what you said about other EV drivers having questions about the truck- and in my experience their reactions are always positive. All the articles I read about the Lightning not doing well (as far as sales) strike me as odd- if dealerships & their salespeople actually wanted to sell the product, and Ford had a more sensible marketing strategy, I think that they could double their sales numbers. The fact that Ford can’t do direct sales and has to rely on a dealer network that makes more money on servicing ICE vehicles is a real problem.

 

[Jseis]

As I tend to travel late hours, most of my charging station access is after 7 pm and it’s rare to see a Tesla or EA station with anything more than 1-3 EVs. And thus no negative interactions. Good discussions with other Lighting, Audi, Tesla, Rivian owners and of note is the slow rise of new owners whom never charged before. Several of my trips where 800-900 miles and long distance drivers are happy to have a place to charge and chill. Most questions are how do I like the truck features and a couple of Rivian owners made their choice based on city living/driving. EV full size trucks don’t easily navigate in modern parking spaces. I’ve worked for government over 4 decades and and have long learned to treat people politely w/o escalating as any EV owner is likely upper middle class though in the current era I’ve seen what appear to be laid off tech types living out of their EVs. 911 on speed dial always a ready option. A parade ground voice and experience as a code & building inspector enforcer attitude usually mitigates the likelihood of any confrontation starting. Diplomacy is the art of telling someone to go to hell knowing they’ll enjoy the journey.

 

[RickLightning]

California wackos

Sign CLEARLY says

Tesla

Vehicle Charging Only


It does not say

Tesla Vehicle Charging Only.

F'EM

 

[Hank42]

California wackos

Sign CLEARLY says

Tesla

Vehicle Charging Only


It does not say

Tesla Vehicle Charger Only.

F'EM

English....
"Let's eat Grandma!"
"Let's eat, Grandma!"

 

[Scott Libre]

I go out of my way to avoid Tesla charging stations, I carry the adapter as a case of emergency only.

Last week I took a trip from Orlando to Charlotte and I am happy to say that the charging options have increased significantly since the my last trip last year. Ford dealerships in my route have some brand new equipment set up charging I believe. $0.42 pkh. This trip I added two new applications for charging, RED e and BP Pulse.

 

[On the Road with Ralph]

My social experience at charging stations of all networks has generally been good, but I recently had an exchange on the Threads platform with a Tesla owner that was insane. In multiple posts he took the position that non-Tesla drivers should always defer to Teslas wanting to use a charging dispenser. This was because, in his view, Teslas were superior and that as a Tesla owner he had helped to pay for the station. Wow.

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