Prior to the end of 2018, reports about a worrying trend of pickup truck owners intentionally blocking Tesla Supercharger stations in the U.S. started to emerge.
Dubbed ‘ICE-ing’ by Tesla owners, the practice has upset many and left people asking “what can be done?” As it turns out, there’s a relatively easy way, though it’s up to the blocked drivers to decide whether it’s worth doing so.
In a bid to show how ‘ICE-ing’ can be rectified, YouTuber Tesla Trip decided to take his Model X to a local Supercharging station, revealing how the “war” can be won.
The solution is very simple, Jalopnik reports. All the YouTuber does is attach a tow rope to a large Chevrolet Silverado parked in front of a Supercharger station, gets on the throttle of his Model X, and simply tows the huge pickup out of the way. Thanks to the Model X’s powerful electric motors, towing a vehicle like the Silverado is easy, even with the pickup’s emergency brake engaged.
The video itself was staged and the Silverado used is actually owned by the sister of the Tesla driver. Nevertheless, it does teach us that not even a gargantuan pickup truck can stop a Tesla from getting a top-up of electricity.
We don’t recommend Tesla owners actually follow this practice, however, as it could easily lead to some rather unsavory confrontations. Lawmakers in various states across the U.S. are trying to prevent ‘ICE-ing’ becoming a common occurrence with changes to the law.