It’s important to read the instructions.
On Monday, police arrested a man who they said drove a Tesla Cybertruck into Grapevine Lake in North Texas. Per the Grapevine Police Department, the man said he was trying to test the Cybertruck’s Wade Mode.
The only problem? Wade Mode, according to the Cybertruck owner’s manual, is designed for shallow creeks or rivers that have a maximum depth of 32 inches.
Grapevine Lake, on the other hand, is 65 feet deep at points. According to a nautical map of the area where the incident happened (Katie’s Woods Park Boat Ramp, for curious locals), the water near the shore is around one foot deep but quickly deepens.
As you might expect, the truck flooded and stopped working. The driver and the passengers all escaped safely, and the Cybertruck was later removed from the lake with the help of the local fire department.
The driver, who police identified as Jimmy McDaniel, 70, was arrested on misdemeanor charges of operation of a vehicle in a closed section of a park/lake and multiple water safety equipment violations. He spent the night in jail and was released early Tuesday afternoon, according to a Grapevine police spokesperson. McDaniel could not be reached for comment.
It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time there have been reports of a Cybertruck being driven into Grapevine Lake.
In 2025, a video of someone driving the SUV into a lake made its way to X, where Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded, “With a little work, it should be able to cross some open water.”
And in 2022, before the vehicle’s release, Musk said the Cybertruck “will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat, so it can cross rivers, lakes & even seas that aren’t too choppy.” But as Tesla made clear when the Cybertruck launched with Wade Mode, those plans were apparently never shored up.
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