A TikTok video of a charging electric vehicle has caused quite a stir on the social media platform. The video showed a Tesla getting charged strangely and unbelievably – with a gas stove outlet. The puzzling part of the video was that the Tesla seemed to be charging just fine.
The video was posted by a user named Rickie (@rickologist) with an on-screen caption. It read “You was too cheap to get the Tesla charger installed in your garage so now you gotta pull your car up to the stove outlet just to get 20 miles of charge an hour.”
Rickie showed the stove outlet of a kitchen before the camera moved to show the window where a car was parked close by. A charger came in from the car through the kitchen window and then to the stove outlet. The window was supported by a towel to create enough space for the charging cord to come in. The charger came with a regular 120-volt plug adapter which was connected to the stove outlet.
The stove itself was moved away from the wall to create enough space for the experiment. At first glance, you could immediately see the crudeness of this charging style and tell that this charging arrangement was no nowhere near the standard scenario.
The video was adorned with several tags such as #newcar and #teslamodely. From the tags, we could guess that the car is a new Tesla Model Y. This car is valued on the Tesla website at $50,490 “excluding taxes and fees.”
The Tesla Model Y has a spacious interior, operates on a 1-speed automatic transmission, and can move from 0 to 60 mph in 4.8 sec. Besides its impressive acceleration, the EV also had the capacity for 330 miles of range.
Viewers had a lot to say in the comments. Some wondered why anyone who could afford an electric vehicle couldn’t install an outlet for it. One TikTok user was excited about the discovery. “lol it work I don’t see a problem. We gone find a way,” their comment read.
Another who didn’t seem impressed by the innovation offered some recommendations for outlet installers. “Look on Task Rabbit for certified electricians. I got my moms installed for $200 since I bought the charger already,” was the user’s advice.
Another user who implied familiarity with the charging style voiced safety concerns. “LMAO. Someone did this at work and it destroyed a bunch of appliances,” was his/her warning. “The electric bill going to be insane,” said another user who was concerned about the financial implications of the experiment.
It is not clear if the charging method actually worked or whether it was all a gimmick for cheap social media popularity. Electric vehicles have special outlets for charging. If a gas stove outlet was going to work for an EV, chances are that it wouldn’t match the efficiency and speed of the prescribed charging setup.
