Owners of electric vehicles in across the country are now facing a new problem: Theft of charging station cables.
Let’s start with California, where 9 Tesla stations were recently vandalized.
Viral video shared on TikTok by Joshua Beckler shows the aftermath of a recent theft at a Tesla Supercharger station in Vallejo, California.The nine stations are seen without any of the cables attached to them as Beckler shows the core of the heavy duty cable, which is clearly rich in copper, whose value has soared in recent years.The incident happened sometime over the weekend before it was reported to Vallejo police on Sunday morning.Current scrap prices for copper have it averaging at $3 per pound, with Forbes reporting that the metal is ‘a catalyst for a new era of global economic growth’.
The targeting of EV charging stations is confined to California, either. Earlier this year, there was a similar incident in Minnesota.
It’s a trend that’s being seen across Minneapolis and St. Paul. Some locations have been targeted more than once, making it a costly crime. Minneapolis’s Public Works Department says there’s not that much copper inside the charging cables for thieves to steal since the cable has other materials and insulation.In a recent Facebook post from Minneapolis police, authorities said a pound of copper is only worth a couple dollars. Meanwhile, the cost to replace the charging cable and damage costs the city thousands.In Minneapolis, the city has replaced at least 44 charging cables and still had a list of more than 20 to go, as of last week. Joe Laurin with Minneapolis Public Works, said it’s tough to keep up.”It’s frustrating for everybody,” he said.
Reports of changing station cable theft also came from the state of Washington. Thieves barely waited until the units were installed before hitting their targets.
Newly installed electric chargers in Sumner are already out of commission, after thieves cut the cables!The chargers were just unveiled by Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and the Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse one week ago.It marks the second time these cables have been cut in less than two months. PSE had to delay their original grand opening last month, because the chargers were snipped just a few weeks before.“Went through about a year’s worth of construction and unfortunately, this is what happened,” said Dave Radcliffe, the CEO of The Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse.It was a frustrating sight for Radcliffe after seeing all of that time and energy gone overnight.The cables were completely clipped on Tuesday.
It appears that this vandalism has been reported all across the country, and hundreds of cases have been recorded.
A Tesla Supercharging station in the Bay Area was recently targeted by vandals who severed the charging cord from every stall. A few days prior, 5 separate Supercharger locations were stripped in Houston, TX. In Fresno, CA, over 50 of the city’s 88 EV charging stations have been pillaged – some multiple times.Since the start of 2024, hundreds of Level 2 (L2) and DC fast charging (DCFC) stalls across the United States have been targeted by scalpers and vandals. Historically, most vandalism against EVs and charging infrastructure was committed by those with anti-EV beliefs or some personal vendetta. But more recently, thieves are just looking to make a quick buck by nabbing the copper material used in cable wiring.The scrapped metal is then sold to recyclers who pay pennies on the dollar for the raw materials. For a haul that might net criminals $50 at most, the damage often costs cities and charging operators thousands to source and install new charging cords.
Copper theft has become a serious issue between the criminal-friendly justice system and the current economic climate. Not only with the charging stations but also with street lights.
Oakland has removed the traffic lights from one intersection and replaced them with 4-way stop signs due to people stealing copper and then tampering with an electrical box.It’s a sight that has made drivers do a double take: a stop sign hanging overhead where a traffic light would normally be, located above the intersection of E. 12th Street and 16th Avenue in Oakland.Neighbors said city workers removed the all the traffic lights in the last week and replaced them with four-way stop signs. The installation came after months of people stealing copper wires and tampering with the city electrical boxes that supply power to the traffic lights.
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