Over the last couple of days, netizens in China have uploaded pictures of destroyed Tesla Supercharger power stations. Apparently, some people have been attacking these stations for their charging cables that are being resold for money.
According to a MyDrivers report, the American automobile maker’s Supercharger stations have been spotted with no charging cables. Reportedly, some people have been cutting the cables from the roots. For those unaware, these power stations are basically small gas station for Tesla cars, and are their to charge the brand’s electric vehicles. However, since these charging points have copper wires, they are being targeted and their parts being sold for money.
Interestingly enough, the “thieves” are only targeting Supercharger stations for their cables, rest of the components were left relatively untouched. The report states that the current price of copper per kilogram is around 70 Yuan (roughly 11 US Dollars) in the market. So, these thieves are probably only making around 100 Yuan (roughly 15.72 US Dollars) for every charging station that they destroy. On the other hand, Tesla is likely facing a far larger loss from these attacks.
The report further added that price of the company’s charging cables could be around tens of thousands of Yuan per unit. In other words, the EV maker is potentially facing more than 100,000 Yuan (roughly 15,716 US Dollars) in damages while the thieves are just making 100 Yuan. Furthermore, the stations being destroyed will likely also remain dysfunctional for a few days before repairs.
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