Lots of charging cables have been stolen from electric cars recently. Especially the Tesla Model 3 is a popular victim, because when it is cold the theft protection does not always work. The police advise to park the car preventively on the cable while charging.
The police in Amsterdam-Zuid alone received 21 reports of stolen charging cables between November 20 and December 4, mainly from Tesla drivers. A new cable is pricey: between € 200 and € 300. The motive of the thieves is therefore clear, because the cables can be sold second-hand for around € 150 each.
Normally it is not possible for a connected charging cable to be stolen. As soon as the charging station is connected and the car and charging station are communicating, a locking pin goes into the plug that is in the car and also into the plug that is inserted into the charging station. That security turns out to be as leaky as a basket. A handy thief can release the lock within seconds. And a less handy thief can also get the plug loose with brute force.
Night frost
Victims suspect a third possibility: night frost. If it gets too cold, a Tesla 3, for example, no longer locks the cable when charging is complete to prevent the mechanism from freezing. Some models of charging stations also unlock automatically when the charging cable is pulled out of the car. In this way, all charging cables of many Teslas are available for the taking on a cold night. A Tesla Model 3 owner was robbed twice within a week in November, both nights it was 4 degrees Celsius. Tesla has been supplying the Model 3 with a heated charging port for a few months that solves the cold problem.
The thefts almost all take place at night. According to the police, the problem occurs throughout the country. The police give a simple but effective tip: park your car on the charging cable. Not just with the wheel on it, as that will damage the cable, but lay the cable between two slats on which you then position the wheel.
Read more at AD.nl.