Musking — Elon Musk Is Now A Cultural Meme
Musking? What the hell is that, right? Well, it actually makes a lot of sense — it’s simply blocking in gas-powered cars that have parked in electric vehicle charging stations.
This is a predictable reaction to the relatively common practice of ICEing — which is, to say, the practice and art of parking your gas-guzzler in EV charging spots and pretending to not know better.
The alternate definition is quite a nice one as well though — think that I might actually end up using that one.
Of course, Musking probably isn’t the best solution most of the time — owing to the fact that your car is likely to get smashed. A potentially useful alternate approach that we’ve discussed here before is to leave a polite (or not so polite) note explaining the situation.
Of course, that’ll only work so long as the ICEer (ICEr?) did so innocently — if there was intention behind taking the spot, despite not driving an EV, then clearly that approach won’t work either.
So, what will work, you ask? Fines, of course. Big ones. As always, smacking somebody till money comes out of their pockets is probably the only way to effect a true change in behavior.
Related: 5 Elon Musk Interviews, Tons of Awesome Quotes
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That picture shows that the Tesla is charging. When there is no other way to charge, I think it is okay to do it like that. In that case it´s just bad luck for the ICE car.
Just blocking ICEs for the sake of it is not nice and won´t help anyone.
It never ceases to amaze me how many people think it’s okay to behave like a jerk. This needs to not be an ‘us vs them’ situation, though the stupid and small minded insist on making it so. So incredibly frustrating. Don’t block cars or put nasty notes on people’s property, no matter which “side” they’re on.
So just who exactly is the jerk?
You might disagree, but in my opinion it is the person using the electric charging spot as parking for a gasoline powered car.
What do you think would happen, or the reactions be, if people driving EV’s were to decide that spaces in front of gasoline pumps were valid parking spaces?
Before you start complaining about the reactions (notes or blocking cars) perhaps you should address who is causing the problem in the first place.
a) Using parking spots for the disabled is prohibited by law virtually everywhere. Using an EV parking space is currently legal in most places. As such, you cannot really compare the two.
b) Parking yourself like the Tesla in the picture is not just annoying for the intended victim, but also makes the parking more difficult or even dangerous to use for those parked in the adjacent spots. There is no excuse whatsoever for annoying third parties.
Lobby your local government for a legal ban on using EV parking spots with an ICE vehicle or for stricter enforcement of an existing ban. There are plenty of political and legal ways to change society. ‘Musking’, on the other hand, is nothing more than ugly, old-fashioned vigilantism.
Not sure where the picture was taken, and maybe around you EV charging spots are fair game for gas cars, but here around the Atlanta Georgia and tristate area it is not legal to use them and there are signs up saying so. Being able to get a cop to come put a ticket on one when called can be kind of hard though as they see it as low priority unless it is repetitive by the same car.
Since the car in the picture appears to be charging it would seem to be by necessity, otherwise who would leave an expensive vehicle parked in such a hazardous position.
The person bragging about ‘Musking’ a gas car with the picture has gone to an extreme, while you do the exact same thing by calling them a ‘vigilante’. Neither is likely to do anything to improve the situation.
– So where you live it’s already illegal. Great. There’s a law, and there are proper channels to get that enforced. Problem solved. If your local police department sees it as low priority (which I can understand), organize the community and lobby your local legislators.
– Agreed with necessity sometimes forcing you to park in a dangerous way, but to actually be proud of it?
– I call them vigilantes because that is what they are. Grab a dictionary of choice and look at the definition of ‘vigilante’. It will be something akin to this one: “any person who takes the law into his or her own hands, as by avenging a crime.”
That’s what’s happening here: the person in question deems he or she has the right to ‘punish’ (I’d say being prevented from leaving your parking spot is a punishment) another citizen rather than resorting to proper legal channels.
I dislike those parking in EV spots for no good reason as much as anyone. But ‘musking’ is is morally reprehensible and plain illegal in most cases. As much as right wing nuts dislike it, the government and the government alone is responsible for punishing offenders.
Yes you do need to do something about community action or petitioning the government for better regulations on the use of EV charging spaces. People still driving ICE vehicles don’t seem to realize that they are as important as being able to get at a fuel pump for them.
With charging spaces having been initiated in the Atlanta area about twenty years ago getting ICE’d seems to be a rare occurrence around there, but I could be wrong, don’t get down there very often anymore. It doesn’t seem to be an issue at the city building’s in the nearby village since being put in last year.
I said that the person posting the picture and bragging on it was in the wrong, but equally your calling them names (even if they are correct) isn’t going to improve the situation. Study some basic psychology, calling out bad behavior in an aggressive manner tends to reinforce it rather than change it.
Is vigilante considered to be an insult? I wasn’t aware of that, I thought it was a rather neutral term (not a native speaker!). Is there a more pleasant word for someone who feels the need to take the law into his/her own hands?
Perhaps I am wrong, but my opinion is that yes if you call someone an “ugly, old fashioned, vigilante” here in the US it will be taken as an insult, no matter the accuracy of the description.
Especially phrased that way it will bring up connotations of what the Klan did in the way of lynching and home burnings when trying to control the former slave population a century and more ago on through the middle of the last century.
As for better terminology to use I’m not sure what to tell you, yes the picture poster was a bragging A-hole to some extent, but it won’t change anything to tell them that, and in most likelihood cause the opposite reaction.
I understand that you are not a native speaker of American English, however in any of your comments it would be impossible to tell that without prior knowledge. My original comment was to a different commentor only seeing that the picture poster was being a jerk, so in any of my experiences these spots are clearly marked as EV only, it seemed valid to point out that the driver of the gas car was being one also.
Then you replied to me with broad assertions that these spots are not protected, when in most places in the US I think that they are, and calling the picture poster an outlaw for trying to fill up their car.
As I’ve said from the start what the picture poster did wasn’t the most intelligent move, they could have just filled up and gone on. With such a valuable vehicle doubt that they actually left it that way all day and prevented the gas car from leaving. Also as I’ve said from the start calling them names is unlikely to change the behavior, so does nothing to improve the situation. So why bother?
Have a great day, or night, as the case may be.
The integrity of both driver are called into question. But if I need a charge to go about my business and have to go to bathroom, life sucks. I have no intention of blocking. I am going to start my charge and If you are not back before I leave to go the bathroom, you will wait, while I quickly go to return. Oh if there is any damage to my automobile you will wait until a police report is written. Don’t play games at others expense. Say you wanna say in front of a judge.
I doubt that Mr. Musk would approve…of the practice (almost never required by his cars) or the (mis)appropriation of his name *for* said petty practice.
Surely a better/more creative and “neutral” term or acronym can be thought up. I suggest VICE, eVICE, or DEVICE (-Ing), or something along those lines. Let ‘to Musk’ mean something more honorable and/or complimentary, like betting the last dollar of your fortune on your beliefs, disrupting large entrenched industries with novel ideas and approaches, simultaneously running three very successful companies, or inspiring millions to make the most of themselves through good decisions, a little luck (or “good fortune”) and hard work.
Hmmm…. how about putting a brick on both sides of the right front wheel and hope that the ICE offender doesn’t see it before they start up. [;-D)