I just read every bit of this thread. I have to be honest and say that I am a little disappointed with several of the posts here. Yes, the original post was a little melodramatic. To date, there have been VERY few actual incidents. At the same time, the OP brought to our attention a potential safety flaw. For those of you who simply refuse to address the issue, or worse, completely dismiss it as absolutely “non-existent”, please, do not apply for a job at my hospital. With that attitude, you will place patient’s lives at risk.
First, one point of clarification: ICE cars absolutely CAN drive away at anytime. Simply start the car and drive off. Every gas pump in California has a mandatory break-away feature. Now, doing so may have it’s own inherent issues, but if I am in a dangerous situation, I will do it, regardless if I scratch the car, damage the pump, or anything else. The first rule when faced with a dangerous situation is to get away.
Second point of clarification: Tesla’s CANNOT drive away when charging. The car will not drive with the charger plugged in. All movement is disabled. The driver must physically get out of the car, walk to the charging cable and disengage it him or herself. That does create a different environment for Tesla drivers. Yes, we could “go to the local bar” (uh, drinking and driving? NOT a good idea), or visit the local establishments. But, just sitting there in an expensive car can make one a target. And yes, if someone points a gun at your head, it will not matter much whether you can drive away or not. Give them what they want.
The issue then becomes one of necessity. Is there a true threat out there? Personally, I believe that the potential exists. There have been several real world examples of actual events, and I remember some people stating that there are some SC’s that they simply won’t visit for fear of issues (those posts are buried here somewhere. Don’t ask me to quote them, as I don’t really want to waste my time trying to convince someone who need such proof). Those issues may not arise to the desperate need to immediately recall and retrofit all cars with an eject feature, but certainly warrants the generation of a discussion.
Of course, proper security to start off with makes the most sense: placing SC’s at locations that are not attractive to would-be thieves, and proper lighting. Security cameras are nice, but we have all seen plenty of videos of gas stations and convenience stores getting robbed. Cameras only scare of smart thieves. Most thieves are dumb, hence why they are thieves.
My concern with an eject feature is that some idiots (there are Tesla idiots out there) would decide to use it for convenience, and not need. The same goes with driving away. We could be left with many damaged stalls, and more limited options for charging. Perhaps there are others here with better ideas.
