A driver who was shamed for breaking electric vehicle “etiquette” had the last laugh after he grilled his Tesla-driving accuser in a fiery post which included photo evidence.
In a photo shared to Twitter, a blue Volvo was observed parked in the electric charging bay at Caddens Corner shopping centre in western Sydney.
The electric vehicle had its cover open but no cable was connected to it.
“An attempt was made #evhog #etiquette,” the photo was captioned, referring to the fact the vehicle’s owner appeared to be wasting a valuable charging spot.
But the post quickly backfired when renewable energy advocate Evan Smith noticed it was his car being shamed.
Mr Smith said he left his EV in the parking bay to recharge as he ran some errands, only to return to it later to find the charging cable had been detached.
Renewable energy advocate Evan Smith took was shared online car appearing to be sitting in a charging bay unplugged. Picture: Twitter
While it’s unclear when he saw the Twitter post, the fact the charging cable had been randomly removed was enough to encourage Mr Smith to check his dashcam footage.
He was quick to learn the whole act wasn’t as it seemed and decided it was time to set the record straight.
“This was posted of my car where I guess he’s trying to say I’ve just parked and not actually charged,” Mr Smith said in a Twitter thread.
“Anyways I get home and check my dashcam and he unplugged my car to take the photo of it unplugged.”
Mr Smith then shared a timeline accompanied by screen grabs detailing the events that led to the photo being taken.
“(At) 14:35 he arrives and parks. 14:45 my car reaches its set charge limit, charger unlocks the cable. 14:47 he unplugs my car, takes the pic and posts (it) to Twitter. 14:48 he drives off,” he explained.
The accuser later admitted he had taken out the charger, but insisted it was still poor etiquette to leave the car charging when it had already reached 100% battery. Picture: Twitter
A screenshot of the original posts shows the accuser claiming the car was 100 per cent charged when they arrived and was then “unplugged” upon their return.
“Didn’t see anything on our sentry, just a black EPolestar arrive and leave,” the Tesla driver wrote.
However Mr Smith denies this was the case, claiming his accuser “unplugged” his car to take the photo.
“The whole time he was there (13 minutes) and there’s no black Polestar or other EVs,” he said.
Another screen grab from Mr Smith’s dashcam footage shows a white Tesla with “very distinctive number plates” drive away from the scene.
The accuser’s white Tesla (right) was captured driving off. Picture: Twitter
While Mr Smith admits his vehicle had reached full charging capacity prior to him moving it from the parking bay, he said he had no way of knowing as the charger was offline.
Additionally, he said he had only returned 10 minutes after the charger had been unplugged.
“Is it wrong to be at 100 per cent and plugged in, yes. But the charger is offline so I don’t get an alert from the Evie app to tell me it’s done,” he said.
“I had done a calc (sic) in my head as to when it would be done and I arrived back to my car to leave not long after he unplugged me.”
Mr Smith also explained he could have been reached by his accuser via the PlugShare app so he could be made aware his vehicle had been charged.
“Anyway maybe I’m overreacting but it’s a bit f**king weird to fake a scenario to post it online, then lie when you get called out and make up other alternative facts,” he said.
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The man who called out Mr Smith later deleted the post and admitted he had unplugged the charger, but insisted it was still poor form to leave a car at a charging bay longer than necessary.
“2 lessons to be learnt. Don’t unplug others car even if they are not charging. The other. Don’t leave cars sitting at chargers that have finished charging,” he wrote.