- Tesla says Wade Mode works in shallow water, not as a lake-crossing cheat code.
- The driver allegedly took a Cybertruck into a Texas lake and left it stranded.
- What started as an off-road stunt reportedly ended with police charges and a tow.
There was a time when Elon Musk told his audience that the Tesla Cybertruck would, at some point in the near future, be capable of briefly serving as a boat. Just like the Roadster 2.0, that time hasn’t come but that didn’t stop one owner from trying to use the vehicle’s “Wade Mode” to stunning failure yesterday.
Not only did they end up not getting to enjoy their truck acting as a boat, but it flubbed Wade Mode as well. Police didn’t flub the enforcement that came after.
Video posted to Instagram shows that things seemingly started out with a glimmer of success. The driver managed to move around in some shallow water near the shore of Grapevine Lake. Soon after, they went out into deeper water, and the truck stopped being very good at being a truck and simply never stood a chance at being a boat.
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According to the Grapevine PD, “The vehicle became disabled and took on water. The driver and passengers abandoned the vehicle, and the Grapevine Fire Department Water Rescue Team assisted in removing it from the lake.”
What the police aren’t making clear is just how long and how much effort it took to recover this truck. When it went in, the sun was still up. By the time a tow truck used a crane to hoist it out of the lake, it was very dark outside. Still, things would only get worse from here for the driver.
Police arrested the driver on charges of operation of a vehicle in a closed section of a park or lake and various water safety equipment violations. That’s a big key here. “Although a vehicle may be physically capable of entering shallow freshwater areas, doing so can create legal and safety concerns under Texas law,” police said.
Just be careful out there, folks. Wade Mode, Water Mode, Crawl Mode, etc., all sound cool regardless of what vehicle we’re talking about. But use them in the wrong place, and they can turn into “Get Arrested Mode” surprisingly fast.
