Supercharger Shooting Exposes EV Charging Lock Vulnerability
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- Twin Falls shooting: On August 1, a gunman fired into a Tesla that was plugged in and charging at a newly opened In-N-Out lot, killing three and injuring several, including the Tesla driver who was charging and survived.
- EVject promotion: Hundreds of Tesla owners on X shared the $299 EVject "Escape Connector" — a breakaway adapter that lets drivers drive off while still plugged in — with referral codes in the days after the attack.
- Tesla's prior lawsuit: Tesla sued EVject in 2024 in California court, claiming surface temperatures as high as 100°C after 30 minutes of high-current charging and no over-temperature protection; Tesla dropped the suit after EVject released an updated version with built-in thermal protection.
- Industry-wide standard: The charging connector locks during sessions on every EV under the NACS, CCS, and J1772 standards to prevent arcing and accidental disconnection — Tesla's Supercharger network is just where most drivers encounter it because it's the largest.
- Native solution proposed: The article argues automakers and charging networks should build an in-car emergency disconnect that safely cuts power, releases the latch, and lets drivers leave with a single deliberate action — gated behind confirmation to prevent abuse.
Why it matters: The Twin Falls shooting revealed no automaker has engineered an emergency escape from a DC fast-charging stall, while EV owners promote a $299 adapter Tesla once called a fire risk. With every EV using locked NACS, CCS, or J1772 connectors, the fix falls on automakers to build a native one-action disconnect — not aftermarket band-aids.
