Charging your EV seems like a pretty straightforward process, right? Find a station, plug-in, plug-out, and voila. But did you know that “charging etiquettes” are an actual “thing?”

Yes, there’s a whole list of do’s and don’ts to be followed when you take your electrified car to a public charging bay.

EVgo has one, ChargePoint has one, and now LeaseElectricCaro.uk has put together a set of unwritten rules, specially made for the Brits, who are struggling, I guess?

As per a spokesperson of the company, “m ost of the etiquette points are common sense, but you’d be surprised at how many drivers ignore them.”

So what are those extremely common-sense, yet apparently difficult-to-grasp tips? Here are the 9 guidelines offered by LeaseElectricCar:

1. Charging only

Or : WHY ON EARTH would you park your car at a charging spot if you don’t need the charger?

2. Look after the charge point

Or : IS IT SO DIFFICULT to take care of the public property that enables your car to move?

3. Plan your charging times

Or : JUST MAKE SOME PREPARATION, before you start driving. There are apps for that. And Google .

4. Ask politely

Or : MIND YOUR MANNERS, being polite makes life much easier.

5. Starting your charge

Or : JUST CHARGE YOUR EV, that’s why you stopped there.

6. Don’t unplug

Or : IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU, there are other drivers who want to charge too.

7. Rapid charging

Or : ONLY FAST CHARGING EVS can use a fast charger — know your stuff.

8. Fully charged

Or : JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN CHARGE it doesn’t mean you have to.

9. Do not block the bay

Or: SUCK IT EARTH DESTROYERS, and show some respect.

Well, there you have it. Those are the courtesy guidelines for EV charging.

Are they a revelation? No, they’re shockingly basic, but there’s one thing they do show: unless we really get how the charging process works, transitioning to electrification will be much more of a challenge than we expected.

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Tesla Model Y owner files formal complaint: ‘The car by itself took control’

An anonymous owner of a 2021 Tesla Model Y has filed a complaint at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), reporting their vehicle crashed while the Full Self-Driving Beta was engaged.

The accident took place on November 3, somewhere in Brea, California. Fortunately, there were no injuries or fatalities, but disturbingly enough, the owner blames the FSD for causing the crash. Specifically, the car kept entering the wrong lane and didn’t respond to driver input.

This is the driver’s statement on NHTSA’s official page :

That’s strange. And frightening, to be honest.

We’ve seen previously FSD causes Teslas to attempt to enter wrong lanes , and disengage the featur abruptly , but to withhold control of the car? That’s a first.

A driver should always be able to take control the vehicle and steer it out of a dangerous situation, and FSD is supposed to deactivate when force is applied to the wheel.

While NHTSA needs to further investigate the accident and validate the complaint (in case it’s a fake report), this incident will only add to the agency’s trust issues with Tesla software if the allegations are found to be true.

In October, Tesla recalled nearly 11,704 vehicles after identifying a software error that could cause a false forward-collision warning or unexpected activation of the automatic emergency brake system.

In its safety recall report , the agency said that Tesla “uninstalled FSD 10.3 after receiving reports of inadvertent activation of the automatic emergency braking system” and then “updated the software and released FSD version 10.3.1 to those vehicles affected.”

And let’s not forget that NHTSA in August opened a probe on Tesla’s Autopilot software, citing the cars’ repeated collisions with parked first-responder vehicles.

So, how can we not mistrust Tesla’s semi-autonomous software? After all, the company itself has bluntly warned about its limitations.

Beta 9’s release notes are my favorite regarding FSD:

The problem here is, dear Tesla, what if I can’t take control of the car in case it chooses to do “the wrong thing at the worst time?”

Rimac Nevera test driver succumbs to temptation, hits illegal 232kph on public road

The Nevera , Rimac’s insane electric hypercar, was launched a week ago and hit us like the storm that it’s named after. With an impressive 1,914 horsepower and an even more formidable 0-60mph acceleration in just 1.85 seconds, who could ever resist it?

Well, a Rimac test driver sure couldn’t. Just a day after the Nevera’s official release, a video was uploaded on Reddit showing the unnamed 41-year-old exceeding the speed limit of the public road where he was testing the car, Index.hr reported.

Specifically, the man was driving on the two-way, dual-lane D8 road in Dubrovnik, Croatia, taking the Nevera at 232km/h (144mph), as can be seen in the video.

That’s more than double the local road’s speed limit, which reportedly allows for a maximum of 90km/h (about 55mph).

Of course, this didn’t go unnoticed by Dubrovnik’s police department, which disclosed to Index.hr that it hadn’t been informed that a test drive would take place in its jurisdiction.

The police also said that an indictment will be filed against the driver in the Municipal Court in Dubrovnik in accordance with the Road Traffic Safety Act.

Rimac’s founder and CEO Mate Rimac rushed to make an announcement on his Facebook profile, extending a public apology and reporting that the driver turned himself in to the police. Here’s Mate Rimac’s statement, auto-translated into English:

Overall, I’d say that this wasn’t the way the company intended to promote the Nevera’s outstanding performance, but at least it rightly assumed full responsibility. Admittedly, reaching an exhilarating speed with a powerful car is tempting, but road safety must always come first, even when driving a hypercar.

Do EVs excite your electrons? Do ebikes get your wheels spinning? Do self-driving cars get you all charged up?

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