While there isn’t a law against unplugging someone else’s EV in order to juice up your own, people have to know that it’s just plain wrong, right?
Unfortunately, this woman either didn’t get the “memo”, or simply didn’t care that what she was doing might negatively impact someone else. According to the video’s description, the Model 3 in question had only been charging for 15 minutes before she disconnected it.
So how did she manage to just unplug an actively-charging EV, you ask? EV manufacturers like Tesla do make it so the connector locks to the car while charging, however, this particular Model 3 was using a public level 2 charging station with a J1772 connector, as InsideEVs points out.
This means having to use a Tesla-supplied J1772 adapter, which doesn’t lock to the car.
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Here’s what the owner of the Model 3 had to say after posting the footage online: “Her two young girls and husband were watching as she demonstrates her selfishness. I do not show the family in the video. I was using the Tesla charger adapter which did not lock into the charger cord. She tried jiggling a plug out of another car before she came upon mine. The great majority of people in this area are very polite. Not Mrs. Unplug!”
So again, just because this wasn’t against the law, it doesn’t mean we should just let it go. Yanking out someone’s cord while charging is one or two steps away from grabbing another driver’s nozzle at the gas station while they’re re-fueling, and filling up your car on his or her dime.
The incident took place at Blackhawk Plaza in Danville, CA on January 12, 2020.