Don’t Plug It In!: California Man’s Tesla Implores Him Not to Charge Vehicle

A California man said he got a message telling him to avoid charging his vehicle after he got into his Tesla. This comes as California electricity regulators declare a “Flex Alert,” asking consumers to conserve electricity voluntarily between 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. due to a shortage of power in the state.

“This bullshit was on the screen of my Tesla yesterday when I got in the car,” real estate investor Mike Bolen tweeted on Tuesday, sharing a photo of the message he received from his electric vehicle (EV).

The message reads as follows:

The current heat wave is expected to stress California’s grid this weekend. Use the Scheduled Departure setting to ensure your vehicle is charged and preconditioned to your preferences at time of departure, while avoiding charging during higher price evening hours between 4-9 PM.

As of Thursday, California is on its eighth consecutive day of a “Flex Alert,” meaning that residents in the state are instructed to minimize their use of energy, which includes not plugging in their electric vehicles.

Ironically, California regulators have recently approved plans to ban almost all gasoline-powered vehicles and require electric vehicles by the year 2035.

The “Flex Alerts” are issued by the California Independent System Operator, which manages the grid for most of California and some of Nevada. Residents have also been asked not to use major appliances.

Bolen is not the only Tesla owner to share this type of message to social media. Others also took to Twitter to share photos of similar messages from their electric cars.

“A heat wave is expected to impact the grid in Texas over the next few days. The grid operator recommends to avoid charging during peak hours between 3pm and 8pm, if possible, to help statewide efforts to manage demand,” one message read from an EV owner in Texas.

In July, Elon Musk’s Tesla was reported to have been warning its customers in Texas to avoid charging their electric cars during peak times in an attempt to prevent overtaxing the state’s power grid amidst an ongoing heatwave.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.