Shocking footage captured the moment a woman put pressure on a Tesla as Australians claim to have noticed a rise in the number of “older people” vandalizing electric cars.
Cole’s security adviser, Ibrahim Can, had parked his Tesla at a shopping center in Epping, north of Melbourne, last month.
He returned and found a “deep” scratch extending from the passenger door to the left of the bumper and immediately checked the car’s Sentry backup camera.
Footage shared on Facebook last week showed a woman holding a green bag and dragging a key along the side of the vehicle.
“I reviewed the footage and realized that an elderly lady had locked my car,” Can wrote.
He asked other Tesla owners, who were outraged by the incident, if it was worth showing his insurance company and some advised him to go to the police.
Definitely report it to the police! “An old man has just been accused of doing this in Queanbeyan, New South Wales,” one of them suggested.
Others couldn’t believe the recent wave of direct hate towards electric cars.
Shocking footage captured the moment a woman put pressure on a Tesla as Australians claim to have noticed a rise in the number of “older people” vandalizing electric cars.
‘What’s with all the hate towards Teslas in Australia? These videos are published weekly. What a shame,’ said one.
‘What the hell is wrong with all these old men tampering with cars for no reason? “All cars need to have these cameras built in,” said another.
‘This type of behavior is increasing and is all too common here in Australia. Have we lost our ability to respect others like we used to?” added one.
Many said they would be more vengeful than the Tesla owner.
‘Absolutely no logical reason. “I would print hundreds of photographs and post them, offer a reward for his name,” one said.
“Report him, put that horrible unit in its place,” said another.
Some even attributed the lack of respect to age.
‘Is it always the boomers? You have already won all the lotteries in life, are there more things to harm? one asked.
‘I agree. It’s disgusting. Never ever the young. Always boomers,’ another agreed.
‘Perhaps Tesla is a symbol of a new generation of vehicles. “They are jealous that the younger generations can do better,” one man hypothesized.
However, not everyone agreed.
Footage shared on Facebook last week showed a woman holding a green bag and dragging a key along the side of the vehicle.
“It doesn’t look like he won any lottery and it’s just envy on his part, which has nothing to do with the age demographic,” one argued.
“There are so many acts of stupidity and aggression towards Tesla drivers by young fools in dual-cab vehicles.”
‘Could you please not stigmatize all double cab drivers?’ another man responded.
In the year ending June 2024, 45 charges of criminal damage to private cars were recorded in Victoria, up from 26 and 36 in the previous two years.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Victoria Police for comment.