Not driving your automotive instantly right into a physique of water could sound like widespread sense—however hey, if Elon Musk says it’s secure, who’re we to disagree?
A Tesla Cybertruck driver realized the arduous means that Musk’s phrases aren’t gospel when he deliberately drove his automotive into Grapevine Lake in North Texas on Monday night, using the automobile’s “Wade Mode,” which is meant to be used in water as much as 32 inches deep. Videos shared on social media present the automobile shifting by way of the shallow part of the lake, just for his Cybertruck to close down when he received to deeper waters, leaving the automobile stranded.
Within the aftermath, social media customers are pointing to posts by Elon Musk which will have led the motive force astray, together with one assertion by the Tesla CEO that the Cybertruck might cross “rivers, lakes, and even seas.”
A driver in deep water
The motive force, recognized by police as Jimmy McDaniel, 70, told reporters at THV11 that this was his third time driving his Cybertruck into Lake Grapevine and that the primary two voyages went swimmingly. This time, nevertheless, he went too deep, which he suspects allowed water into the automotive’s charging port and short-circuited the automobile.
After the Cybertruck shut down, McDaniel received out by way of the window of the automobile—alongside along with his two passengers, German guests he was reportedly giving a trip.
When he made it to shore, McDaniel was arrested on a number of costs, together with driving a automobile in a closed part of the park and boating legislation violations, corresponding to not having a legitimate boat registration and never having lifejackets on board. The Cybertruck was later retrieved from the water and towed by the native hearth division.
Following the incident, the Grapevine Police Division supplied a easy message for drivers: “Don’t drive into the water together with your automobile,” police spokesperson Katharina Gamboa mentioned. “Didn’t suppose I’d need to say that one.”
McDaniel, for his half, stands by the Cybertruck’s aquatic capabilities and blames the error on his personal “miscalculation.” He added that the Cybertruck is again in his possession and that he’s hopeful he’ll be capable to drive it once more.
Musk’s less-than-watertight recommendation
Although the Cybertruck owner’s manual makes it clear that Wade Mode is simply meant for shallow water, Musk’s on-line presence tells a special story.
In April of 2025, Musk commented on a video of a Cybertruck shifting by way of shallow water in Lake Grapevine—maybe one in all McDaniel’s earlier Wade Mode escapades—writing, “With a bit of work, it ought to be capable to cross some open water.”
And again in 2022, earlier than the Cybertruck’s launch, Musk overrated the automobile’s then-unseen Wade Mode options, saying that they’d primarily flip the automotive right into a viable watercraft.
“Cybertruck can be waterproof sufficient to serve briefly as a ship, so it could actually cross rivers, lakes, and even seas that aren’t too uneven,” Musk wrote. Although his phrasing was definitive, his precise product clearly didn’t dwell as much as these lofty requirements.
It’s solely the latest failure for Tesla’s notorious flagship automobile: Earlier this month, nearly 200 Cybertrucks were recalled due to a risk of their wheels popping off while in motion. And final fall, a deceased teenager’s family sued Tesla over the vehicle’s electronic door-opening mechanism, which they allege prevented her from escaping the Cybertruck after a fiery crash.
Tesla has not responded to Quick Firm’s request for remark.
