Public charging stations have turned into car graveyards over the past couple of days.
“Nothing. No juice. Still on zero percent,” said Tyler Beard, who has been trying to recharge his Tesla at an Oak Brook Tesla supercharging station since Sunday afternoon. “And this is like three hours being out here after being out here three hours yesterday.”
Beard was among the dozens of Tesla owners trying desperately to power up their cars at the Tesla supercharging station in Oak Brook. It was a scene mirrored with long lines and abandoned cars at scores of other charging stations around the Chicago area.
“This is crazy. It’s a disaster. Seriously,” said Tesla owner Chalis Mizelle.
Mizelle was forced to abandon her car and get a ride from a friend when it wouldn’t charge.
Another man summed up the situation succinctly: “We got a bunch of dead robots out here.”
But it was no laughing matter to people like Kevin Sumrak, who landed at O’Hare on Sunday night to find his Tesla dead.
Sumlak was forced to hire a flatbed tow truck to try to find a working charging station.