Young Man Tests Cybertruck's Wade Mode in Texas Lake, Vehicle Stalls Mid-Water and Driver Faces Multiple Charges
A Texas man drove a Tesla Cybertruck into Grapevine Lake to test its Wade Mode water feature in May, but the vehicle stalled and sank, forcing both occupants to escape through a window. The driver faces multiple charges for operating in a r
A peculiar incident unfolded on May 18 in northern Texas when a man drove a Tesla Cybertruck, a futuristic electric pickup truck, into Grapevine Lake to test the vehicle's "Wade Mode" water-fording feature. The vehicle stalled in the water and required a crane to retrieve it.
Witnesses recorded video as the Cybertruck slowly descended the shoreline before water rapidly began flooding into the vehicle. In the footage, someone can be heard joking, "Hey, you can't park here," just as the truck was about to submerge.
According to reports, the driver and passenger managed to drive only a few feet before the vehicle struck a large underwater rock. Both occupants were forced to escape through the passenger window and wade to a nearby marina.
Police revealed that the driver admitted to intentionally driving into the lake to test the Cybertruck's Wade Mode, one of the vehicle's off-road features.
However, this function was designed for fording shallow water such as streams or stagnant water areas and does not activate automatically—users must manually enable it according to the vehicle's manual. Police warned that despite the vehicle potentially being capable of fording shallow water, operating it on public waterways may violate regulations and poses serious safety risks.
Authorities used a crane to retrieve the waterlogged Cybertruck from the lake overnight. The driver was arrested and charged with operating a vehicle in a restricted lake area, lacking proper vessel registration, and violating multiple water safety regulations.
