Truck That ICEd a Tesla Is Towed Away by Police in Berlin

Electric vehicles (EV) and charging stations are growing in their numbers. It's not all smooth sailing though, as some non-electric car owners have decided to fight against the trend. For some unfathomable reason, they block charging stations with their own gas-guzzling vehicles in a term known as ICEing.

So last weekend, a Tesla owner in Berlin, Germany, had some trouble charging their electric vehicle because of a large blue Ford pickup truck obstructing its charging point.

The police decided to intervene, and impressively, the truck was craned away. 

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ICEing vs. EVs

Short for 'internal combustion engine' (ICE) vehicles, the term is used by EV owners when describing non-EVs that block their charging stations. This is sometimes done unintentionally by drivers who simply aren't aware that they're parking in an EV charging zone. However, for reasons unknown to most, the act is, at other times, done very intentionally.

It could be likened to an EV parking directly in front of a gas pump — just for fun or to annoy gas-driven car owners. It's a strange move. 

Unser #A11 kümmert sich auch um Schwergewichte:
Hätte der große Blaue tatsächlich die Ladesäule angezapft, wäre vermutlich in den umliegenden Haushalten der Strom ausgefallen.
^tsm pic.twitter.com/ilxy0TvVP7

— Polizei Berlin (@polizeiberlin) November 9, 2019

As the issue seems to keep popping up, certain cities or zones have started acting out on the ICErs by giving tickets. 

In a much more drastic, and entertaining way, the police in Berlin decided to use a crane to remove the unapologetically massive blue Ford truck from the Tesla charging station. 

pic.twitter.com/HIwnfB0js3

— Jonas Caesar (@Jonas39748309) November 9, 2019

The police posted their actions via their Twitter, stating: "Our # A11 also takes care of heavyweights: If the big blue had actually tapped the charging station, the electricity would probably have been lost in the surrounding households."

This is a rough translation from German, but you can sense their tongue-in-cheek choice of words. 

So the Berlin Police just found the only pickup truck in Germany 😉

— 🚀 Don't Bet Against Elon 🚀👩‍🚀🐉 (@SteveHamel16) November 10, 2019

Fines in some countries or states can go up to $100 for parking in front of an EV charging station with a non-electric vehicle or without charging your EV. 

It's great to see cities such as Berlin taking a stand for electric vehicles. Perhaps, knowledge either needs to be spread more clearly regarding EVs and their charging stations or more hardcore actions against ICEing needs to happen, just like what happened in Berlin.