Posted on 10/13/2024 5:20:11 PM PDT by dennisw
The reason thieves are targeting EV charging cables is because they contain copper wiring.
The price of copper is near a record high on global markets, so criminals stand to collect rising sums of cash from selling the material.
But while it costs $1,000 to replace a charging cable, authorities say, thieves only stand to make $20 reselling the metal.
Thieves have been caught on camera in Seattle targeting an EV charging station on the edge of a shopping center parking lot.
CCTV footage shows them using bolt cutters to snip several charging cables and load them into a truck - all in just a few minutes.
A new threat is posing further obstacles to electric vehicle ownership for Americans.
Thieves are targeting charging stations and stealing the cables. This can mean the loss of $1,000-plus cables - but there is an even bigger knock-on effect.
Crooks cutting wires can disable entire stations - forcing owners to search desperately for another working charger that might be miles away.
So-called 'range anxiety', slow charging and a lack of public stations have long put Americans off switching to EVs - despite tax credits from President Biden.
And now broken down chargers are exacerbating the problem - giving skeptical buyers one more reason to stick with gas cars for now.
'For the myriad reasons people give for EVs not working, cable theft is the one that would worry me the most,' one user wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Why we can’t have nice things, like EVs
Nobody saw this coming. /sarcasm
In my area, catalytic converter theft is a big problem; they sell them for the rhodium and other metals.
Shocked!!!!!......
Just like thieves stole the hoses off the gasoline pumps when they were new.............wait a second, that never happened..........
Why aren’t thieves targeting gasoline pump hoses?
Copper thieves will destroy thousands of dollars worth of something to get their $20 or $50, not to mention how it inconveniences the people who need that station and the income lost by the owner.
Sentencing needs to take that into consideration.
I think this was predicted a while back.
At some point we are going to have to declare open season on thieves; no daily or possession limit.
The thieves are like an Indy 500 Pit crew - in So Cal they pull up to a Hotel Parking Lot - one guy disconnects the charger - another guy takes the Sawz-All to the cables - they are done and out of there in seconds.
Thieves need to be safe about the fires of these vehicles. The fire might create a million dollar lawsuit against the manufacturers. Battery fires will be crazy common from Florida to Virginia over the next few months. No way to put them out. The issues with this will kill the EV market irregardless of politics.
Is that what I think it is?...
Krispy Kitter?.....
Go after the scrap dealers who buy obviously stolen EV charger lines. To buy drugs I figure.
This is going on for quite a while.
Main reason why most charging stations do not work.
People dont steal gas pump hoses
They do often drive away with them though, still in their car
The department of energy is enforcing energy equity by requiring scrap dealers to give $20 to anyone bringing in a gasoline hose and nozzle. < /s, but I fear I’m giving them ideas>
It’s time for the Israelis’ to secretly arm the copper cables like they did on pagers and radios...still laughing at that.
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