Tesla Cybertruck owner believed Elon Musk when he said it could cross a lake — now he's in jail | Electrek

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Tesla Cybertruck owner believed Elon Musk when he said it could cross a lake — now he’s in jail

Fred Lambert | May 19 2026 - 11:50 am PT

131 Comments

A Tesla Cybertruck owner drove his electric pickup truck into Grapevine Lake in Texas to test the vehicle’s “Wade Mode” feature. The Cybertruck became disabled in the water and the driver was arrested.

The incident is the latest in a growing list of Cybertruck owners taking Elon Musk’s claims about the vehicle’s water capabilities too seriously — and paying the price for it.

The Grapevine Police Department shared the incident on social media today. According to police, officers and the Grapevine Fire Department were dispatched to Katie’s Woods Park Boat Ramp at Grapevine Lake on Monday evening around 8 PM, where a Tesla Cybertruck was stranded in the water.

The driver told police that he intentionally drove the Cybertruck into the lake to use the “Wade Mode” feature. The vehicle became disabled and took on water. The passengers abandoned the vehicle, and the Grapevine Fire Department’s Water Rescue Team had to help remove the Cybertruck from the lake.<br>Advertisement - scroll for more content

Yesterday, GPD and GFD were dispatched to Grapevine Lake, where a Tesla Cybertruck was stranded in the water. The driver drove into the lake to use the “Wade Mode” feature when the vehicle became disabled. The passengers abandoned the vehicle and the driver was arrested. pic.twitter.com/iPJMaLzOEX<br>— Grapevine Police (@GrapevinePolice) May 19, 2026

The driver was arrested and charged with operating a vehicle in a closed section of park/lake, having no valid boat registration, and numerous water safety equipment violations. As of today, the driver remains in jail.

Elon Musk’s water claims

The problem here is that Cybertruck owners keep believing Elon Musk when it comes to the vehicle’s water capabilities.

Back in 2022, ahead of the production launch of the Cybertruck, Musk claimed the vehicle would be “waterproof enough” to serve as a boat and cross rivers, lakes, and even seas. The CEO added that the goal was for a Cybertruck to be able to cross the water between SpaceX’s Starbase and South Padre Island — a distance of about 360 meters.

None of that materialized. Instead, the Cybertruck got a “Wade Mode” feature that pressurizes the battery pack and raises the ride height, but it only supports a maximum wade depth of about 32 inches from the bottom of the tire. That’s designed for crossing a shallow creek — not driving into a lake.

As we have noted in previous coverage of similar incidents, whenever Tesla’s warranty contradicts what Musk says, it is better to follow the warranty. And Tesla’s warranty does not cover off-roading or water damage.

A pattern of Cybertruck water failures

This is far from the first time a Cybertruck owner has gotten into trouble by taking Musk’s water claims at face value.

Last year, a Cybertruck owner in Truckee, California got stuck after activating Wade Mode and driving into the water. The California Highway Patrol had to help with the recovery and memorably commented that “Wade Mode isn’t Submarine Mode.”

Before that, a Tesla Cybertruck sank in Ventura harbor while launching a jet ski, requiring a rescue effort involving the fire department, Harbor Patrol, and the Coast Guard.

Yet another Cybertruck, this one imported in Europe, got stuck in a lake in Slovakia after the owner attempted to test Wade Mode.

The pattern is clear: Musk says the Cybertruck can handle water, owners believe him, and the results range from embarrassing to expensive to — in this latest case — criminal charges.

Electrek’s Take

Top comment by Philip234

Liked by 47 people

BYD's YangWang U8 can actually float and operate as a boat. It is thematic for Tesla. Elon tweets about it and BYD delivers it.<br>Floating Car - Elon Tweet, BYD U8.<br>Ultra fast charger that makes 350kw look like "child's play" - Elon tweet, BYD deployed.<br>Battery pack that has twice the energy and half the cost - Elon Tweet, BYD Blade 2.0<br>Roadster that can actually "fly a little" to give ICE a final smackdown - Tesla tweet, BYD delivers the U9 (which actually flies a little)

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At this point, we’ve covered enough Cybertruck-in-water incidents to see a clear pattern. Elon Musk told owners the Cybertruck would be able to cross lakes, and some of them believed him. Now one is sitting in a Texas jail because of it.

To be clear, driving a truck into a lake is not smart regardless of what the CEO told you on social media. But Musk’s repeated claims that the Cybertruck could serve as a boat and cross bodies of water gave owners a false sense of confidence in the vehicle’s capabilities. The reality is that “Wade Mode” is...