A Tesla electric car recharges its battery at a ChargePoint curbside charging station after an overnight snowfall on Dec. 21 in Hoboken, N.J. Photo: Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
Public EV charging stations struggle with miscreants who literally cut the cord — but a new innovation aims to put a stop to that.
EV charging network ChargePoint today introduced a new "cut-resistant" charging cable for its stations.
The company will also license it to other charging providers.
How it works: The new cords incorporate hardened steel and "some other polymer materials that are just really hard to cut through," ChargePoint CEO Rick Wilmer tells Ars Technica.
The company is also rolling out a companion system that sounds an alarm and triggers lights when someone attempts to cut the cord.
Zoom in: Vandals often target EV charging cords hoping to steal the copper inside them, Bloomberg reports.
The big picture: Malfunctioning charging stations are a barrier to EV adoption because people are less likely to feel comfortable driving one if they can't rely on charging infrastructure.
