{"id":1986746,"date":"2023-07-31T12:10:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-31T16:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-ev-driver-winds-up-on-front-page-of-rural-montana-newspaper-for-plugging-in-car-without-permission\/"},"modified":"2023-07-31T12:14:57","modified_gmt":"2023-07-31T16:14:57","slug":"california-ev-driver-winds-up-on-front-page-of-rural-montana-newspaper-for-plugging-in-car-without-permission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-ev-driver-winds-up-on-front-page-of-rural-montana-newspaper-for-plugging-in-car-without-permission\/","title":{"rendered":"California EV driver makes headlines in rural Montana for unauthorized car charging."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcalifornia-ev-driver-winds-up-on-front-page-of-rural-montana-newspaper-for-plugging-in-car-without-permission%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1986746&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>If You&#8217;ve Ended \u200dUp \u200con the Front Page of the Local \u200dNewspaper, You&#8217;ve Probably Either Done\u200b Something Really\u200c Good or Really Bad<\/h2>\n<p>For Chad Lauterbach, the answer\u2062 is \u200bthe latter \u2014 although one might concede it \u2064was a\u200b slow \u2064news day in Carter County, Montana, \u200bwhen he managed to do it.<\/p>\n<p>Lauterbach\u200c is, according \u200dto the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jab-stand-in-indonesian-man-says-he-has-taken-14-coronavirus-shots-for-other-people\/\" title=\"'Jab Stand-In': Indonesian Man Says He Has Taken 14 Coronavirus Shots for Other People\">online news site<\/a> the <a href=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2023\/07\/27\/what-happened-when-a-tesla-came-to-ekalaka-montana\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Montana\u200c Free Press<\/a>, <strong>\u201ca nationally prominent taxidermist.\u201d<\/strong> (Their\u200b words, not mine; you could attach any name \u200cto the words \u201cnationally\u2062 prominent taxidermist,\u201d including Carrot Top\u2019s, and I\u2019d have no grounds to argue with you.)<\/p>\n<p>The stuffing of animals is apparently\u200d a job that requires a lot of \u2063off-road work, because the \u200dLos Angeles-based Lauterbach\u2019s main vehicle is a \u200cgas-guzzling 1989 Toyota Land \u2064Cruiser, which\u200d gets 10 miles\u2064 per gallon.<\/p>\n<p>Thus, when he was invited to a dinosaur\u2063 festival \u200bat \u200bthe Carter County Museum in the county \u200dseat of\u200c Ekalaka, population <a href=\"https:\/\/worldpopulationreview.com\/us-cities\/ekalaka-mt-population\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">roughly 400<\/a>, \u2062he \u2062and girlfriend\u2062 Allis \u2062Markham \u200bthought they\u2019d take\u2063 his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/data-leak-reveals-worldwide-problem-tesla-bad\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tesla Model\u2064 Y<\/a> instead to save\u200c on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ron-hart-biden-harris-dumb-and-dumber\/\" title=\"Ron Hart: Biden\/Harris \u2014 Dumb And Dumber\">gas money<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This turned out to be\u2063 a huge mistake. While the Model \u2063Y is indeed efficient, it\u200c also doesn\u2019t run directly on dinosaur juice and getting power into the car fast isn\u2019t as easy as just taking it to\u2062 the corner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/video-shows-bud-lights-painful-situation-inside-kentucky-gas-station-boycott-full-effect\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gas station<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>According to United States Department of Agriculture <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ers.usda.gov\/webdocs\/DataFiles\/51020\/52626_farcodesmaps.pdf?v=5213.5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">data<\/a>,\u200b Carter County is in one of the most\u2064 remote parts \u200cof the United States. Thus, charging \u200ba \u200bTesla via a Level 2 or Level\u2063 3 fast-charger is likely to be\u200c out of the question.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s bad\u200b enough that, according to Lauterbach, the car tried to warn the couple that they \u2062were heading into what\u2019s known as a\u200b \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/car-journalists-drive-cross-country-ev-spend-entire-work-day-charging\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">charging desert<\/a>\u201d \u2062on their way up from Gillette, Wyoming.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2062 kept throwing warnings and red banners and stuff,\u201d \u200dLauterbach \u200csaid, according to the Montana Free Press.\u200b \u201cIt was trying\u2062 to \u200dprotect me from doing\u200c something stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lauterbach apparently declined this protection: \u201cIf push came to \u2063shove, Lauterbach said, he figured he\u2019d be able \u200dto plug the car into a standard\u200c 120-volt outlet in someone\u2019s garage, even though charging \u200dthat way would have taken days,\u201d the Montana Free Press reported.<\/p>\n<p>Well, Lauterbach thought it was his lucky day \u2014 as he got into town, he \u2062found an electrical outlet attached to a utility pole on\u2063 Main Street that had been left unlocked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was just sitting there, so I plugged in,\u201d he said, according \u200bto the Free Press. He did consult\u200d with \u200bthe \u2062museum director \u2063about the move after his girlfriend, not incorrectly, thought locals might perceive that he was \u201cjust some jerk from California, doing what jerks from California do,\u201d according \u200bto the Free Press.<\/p>\n<p>However, he \u2063thought, after the consultation, that things would be OK.\u2063 Turns out, not so much:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">A Los Angeles couple, a Tesla Model Y and an unattended utility \u200doutlet energized the 400-person eastern Montana town\u2019s gossip mill last \u200cweek. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/mtnews?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#mtnews<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9IUlobEdkL\">https:\/\/t.co\/9IUlobEdkL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014\u2064 Montana Free Press (@mtfreepress)\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mtfreepress\/status\/1684673426525458432?\">July 27, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cA UEV (unidentified electric \u200dvehicle) was spotted plugged \u200binto\u2062 one of the power poles on Main Street in Ekalaka Tuesday afternoon,\u201d read the\u200d July 21 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wow-shifty-dominion-uses-a-factcheck-statement-by-cisa-group-that-includes-dominion-to-prove-its-innocence-on-its-own-factcheck-page\/\" title=\"WOW! Shifty Dominion Uses a \"FactCheck\" Statement by CISA Group that INCLUDES DOMINION to \"Prove\" Its Innocence on Its Own \"FactCheck\" Page\">front page<\/a> of the weekly newspaper The Ekalaka Eagle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs of press time on \u2063Wednesday, it was unknown whether or not the \u2064owner\u2063 of the vehicle payed\u200b [sic] \u200d for the electricity used. The sighting could perhaps be the very first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/easy-being-green-bidens-clean-energy-fundraisers-reap-white-house-rewards\/\" title=\"Easy Being Green: Biden\u2019s Clean Energy Fundraisers Reap White House Rewards\">electric vehicle charging station<\/a> in \u200ctown.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to Lauterbach, one of the locals in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wild-video-1983-subaru-flies-helicopter-160-mph-jaw-dropping-stunt-florida\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a Subaru<\/a> \u200d told him to check\u2063 the front page of the paper \u2014 and\u200b there he was!<\/p>\n<p>To be fair, all\u2019s well that mostly ends well. Markham said she visited the local \u200bpower co-op and told\u200b them she\u200c was \u201chere to pay for the crimes of the UEV,\u201d where the staff had a hearty laugh \u2062and told her not to worry about it.<\/p>\n<p>A bit of negotiating and they ended up\u200d paying $60 for access to the charger on Main Street \u2014 which, as it turns out, is mostly used for bands and\u200b vendors during \u200btown\u2063 events.\u200d It \u200cwas left unlocked between\u200c events, said Tye Williams, manager of the co-op.<\/p>\n<p>As for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/state-bill-trash-free-ev-chargers-unless-government-can-something-huge-gas-diesel-drivers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">real charger for EVs<\/a> in Ekalaka? The Montana Free Press described Lauterbach as \u201cbullish\u201d on the prospect. However, the \u200dmanager \u200dof the co-op didn\u2019t \u2063sound that way, even though he acknowledged the town was \u201cgoing to have \u2063to do something in the next decade, or some amount of time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, he said the state\u2019s grant money for fast\u2064 chargers likely wasn\u2019t going to be spent on small towns that are a long\u2062 ways from anywhere.<\/p>\n<p>This is a fun human interest story that highlights a more serious problem: President Joe Biden\u2019s administration seeks\u200c to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-ev-driver-winds-up-on-front-page-of-rural-montana-newspaper-for-plugging-in-car-without-permission\/\" title=\"California EV driver makes headlines in rural Montana for unauthorized car charging.\">implement national \u200cfuel economy standards<\/a> \u2062that would\u200d effectively make 67 percent of\u2064 new\u2064 vehicle\u2064 sales zero-emission by 2032, \u200daccording to\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/07\/28\/1190799503\/new-fuel-economy-standards-cars-trucks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>That means \u2062small towns \u200cand rural areas \u200bare\u2064 going to increasingly be left behind \u2014 and even\u200d in large conurbations where\u2064 there\u2019s been significant uptake of EVs, like \u200cCalifornia\u2019s Bay Area, there are still problems with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/electric-car-fail-25-charging-stations-deep-blue-region-not-work\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">public fast-charging system<\/a> as it is.<\/p>\n<p>Are we to expect that America can overhaul how it fills up its vehicles in less than 10 years? Given that \u200dthe most reasonable way to make cars, \u200btrucks and SUVs zero-emission is to make them electric, are we going to \u2064put the \u2062future\u2063 in the hands of a technology where \u200da \u2062vehicle\u2019s range can drop <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/huge-drawback-electric-trucks-revealed-ford-lightning-loses-25-range-full-payload\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">by \u2062a quarter<\/a> if it has a full payload,\u00a0or up to\u200d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ap-aaa-cold-weather-can-cut-electric-car-range-over-40-percent\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">40 percent<\/a> in cold weather?<\/p>\n<p>Because, make no mistake, that\u2019s the ask from\u200d the\u200d federal government. In order to appease the Greta Thunbergs of the world, privileged sorts \u200cwho have managed to schedule their\u200c lives so that major travel can be done <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/teen-icon-sets-tough-standard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">via sailboat<\/a>, we\u2019re going to tell the residents of all America\u2019s Ekalakas to pony up for fast chargers and\/or have everyone who\u200b wants to slow-charge \u2062their Tesla haggle things out down at the electric co-op.<\/p>\n<p>Mind you,\u2063 Mr. Lauterbach \u2063probably should\u200b have\u200b wised \u200cup and taken the Land\u2063 Cruiser; while he only paid $300\u2062 total in electricity from Los Angeles to Ekalaka and back, he\u2063 ended up \u2064with a honking \u200cbill in the town itself and a front-page newspaper story,\u200c to boot. I\u2019ve never done animal-stuffing \u200das \u2064a\u200c career,\u2062 but I\u2019m assuming that being a \u201cnationally renowned taxidermist\u201d means\u2064 you bring home \u2062SUV gas money, at the very least.<\/p>\n<p>At least he <em>found<\/em> \u2063a place \u2062to charge it, which he wouldn\u2019t have had otherwise, at least publicly. Furthermore, gas-guzzler though it may \u200bbe, the Land Cruiser isn\u2019t \u2062going to warn you\u2062 that you\u2019re heading into a \u201cgas \u2064desert.\u201d That\u2019s because you\u2019re not going to head\u200d into one unless you <em>really <\/em>try.<\/p>\n<p>As it turns out, it\u2019s a \u2062regular enough \u200cproblem for\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/tesla-rigged-dashboards-created-secret-team-exaggerate-range-evs-need-recharging-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Tesla<\/a> that it had \u2062to display big, blaring warnings for Lauterbach not to do \u2064it \u2014 much too late for him to turn back, alas.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/california-ev-driver-winds-front-page-rural-montana-newspaper-plugging-car-without-permission\/\">California EV Driver Winds Up on Front Page\u200c of Rural Montana Newspaper for Plugging in \u200cCar Without Permission<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\">The Western Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>local newspaper standards, a notorious troublemaker.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":663,"featured_media":1986747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1986746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/663"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1986746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986746\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1986747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1986746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1986746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1986746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}