Tesla introduces anti-vandal protection at Supercharger stations

Tesla is facing vandalism at its Supercharger charging stations. Cables are cut, stations are broken, and the motives vary from trivial metal theft to a way to protest against Elon Musk. But the company has run out of patience - anti-vandal technologies come into play.

Here's What We Know

According to user u/1FrostySlime on the r/TeslaLounge subreddit, Seattle-based Tesla is now wrapping Supercharger cables with a special material that makes them harder to cut. But that's not all: if someone does try to cut the wire, the special paint will explode and slick the intruder. Not only will this spoil the mood of the copper hunter, but it could also become evidence if the police catch the offender.

A warning on the charging cable about the pressurised dye inside. Photo: u/1FrostySlime.

As Teslarati notes, Tesla Supercharger stations in Houston, Oakland and other major US cities have been regularly attacked in the past year in an attempt to seize copper from the cables.

Tesla isn't the only company suffering from attacks on its charging infrastructure, however. ChargePoint recently announced two solutions to combat charger vandalism. The first is a cut-resistant charging cable. The second is the ChargePoint Protect alarm system with the function of informing the station owner of physical impact on the device.

Source: Teslarati