Photo: Denver7.com | composition
Two Tesla drivers started a fight while waiting to charge at a Supercharger station in Denver, Colorado. One of them drew a gun and fatally shot the other in what many believed to be an argument over the charging spot. Police investigation revealed that this was not the case without yet revealing what led to the tragic incident.
In the good old times, it was EV owners versus gas-powered vehicle owners, with the latter crowd usually bullying the former. ICE-ing and coal-rolling incidents became the rightful expression of this competition, with occasional keying and even arson thrown in for good measure. But as more people adopt electric vehicles, a fight between EV owners was bound to start sooner or later. Unfortunately, it did, and it was bloody.
Two Tesla owners started a fight at a Supercharger station in Denver, Colorado. It ended with one of them fatally shooting the other one. Because the station had all eight charging poles occupied at the time of the shooting, the Police thought an altercation over the charging spot caused the incident. After speaking with witnesses and investigating further, the Edgewater Police Department ruled out this possibility. An argument did occur, but investigators are still trying to figure out what happened.
According to Denver7, the two Tesla owners started arguing while waiting for their EVs to charge. Both men were in their cars when the victim, who was carrying a gun, walked up to the shooter's vehicle. Police told Denver7 that the shooter reported macing the victim before opening fire. He left the Supercharger in his Tesla, called 911, and was later detained without other incidents. The development suggests that the shooter believed he acted in self-defense, but the Police are still investigating.
Even if the two Tesla owners weren't fighting over the charging spot, the incident started a discussion about the need for an automatic queuing system at the charging stations. As more people buy electric vehicles, it gets difficult to figure out who has the right to charge first. Most charging stations, Superchargers included, have a parking lot-like layout, which makes queuing difficult. This could lead to arguments, which we now know can end tragically. Gas stations have figured this out, most of them being built as a drive-through. This allows cars to queue more logically. Even so, arguments are not unheard of.
An automated queueing system should not be hard to implement, considering the smart tech of most electric vehicles. Tesla should consider such a system, which could activate when you reserve a spot at a Supercharger. If all the chargers are in use, the system will assign a number and trigger an alert when it's your turn to charge. To make it more efficient, it should deny charging to cars that have not checked in for charging.
Two Tesla owners started a fight at a Supercharger station in Denver, Colorado. It ended with one of them fatally shooting the other one. Because the station had all eight charging poles occupied at the time of the shooting, the Police thought an altercation over the charging spot caused the incident. After speaking with witnesses and investigating further, the Edgewater Police Department ruled out this possibility. An argument did occur, but investigators are still trying to figure out what happened.
According to Denver7, the two Tesla owners started arguing while waiting for their EVs to charge. Both men were in their cars when the victim, who was carrying a gun, walked up to the shooter's vehicle. Police told Denver7 that the shooter reported macing the victim before opening fire. He left the Supercharger in his Tesla, called 911, and was later detained without other incidents. The development suggests that the shooter believed he acted in self-defense, but the Police are still investigating.
Even if the two Tesla owners weren't fighting over the charging spot, the incident started a discussion about the need for an automatic queuing system at the charging stations. As more people buy electric vehicles, it gets difficult to figure out who has the right to charge first. Most charging stations, Superchargers included, have a parking lot-like layout, which makes queuing difficult. This could lead to arguments, which we now know can end tragically. Gas stations have figured this out, most of them being built as a drive-through. This allows cars to queue more logically. Even so, arguments are not unheard of.
An automated queueing system should not be hard to implement, considering the smart tech of most electric vehicles. Tesla should consider such a system, which could activate when you reserve a spot at a Supercharger. If all the chargers are in use, the system will assign a number and trigger an alert when it's your turn to charge. To make it more efficient, it should deny charging to cars that have not checked in for charging.
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