Tesla driver busted stealing electricity from a lamppost in Zuid-Holland
Police in Oud-Beijerland detained a Tesla driver accused of charging his car by plugging it into a streetlight on Bootstraat. He is suspected of stealing electricity from the lamppost in the Zuid-Holland town.
"We are curious about the story behind this act," police said on social media. The police caught the all-electric vehicle's driver less than two weeks before the national energy price cap will take effect, which should lower the electricity bills for most average consumers.
As newspaper AD noted, operating an electric car was extremely cheap last year, but is now often more expensive to run than vehicles consuming petrol or diesel. The newspaper detailed that an electric car which uses 15 kWh of electricity per 100 kilometers costs 12.60 euros to cover that distance.
By comparison, the BMW 530i uses 5.5 liters of petrol for the same range, according to a press release from the manufacturer. Petrol and diesel currently sells for 1.88 at Dutch highway filling stations, according to United Consumers, putting the BMW's cost per 100 kilometers at 10.34 euros.
The most egregious case of electricity theft carries a heavy punishment. Suspects convicted in those cases can be fined up to 100,000 euros, and serve a maximum of four years behind bars, AD said.
