Police Arrest Driver After Tesla Cybertruck Enters Grapevine Lake
Police in Texas arrested a man after they said he intentionally drove a tesla cybertruck into Grapevine Lake to use the vehicle's "Wade Mode" feature. Grapevine police said officers were called to the lake in north Texas on Monday to recover the truck after it became disabled and took on water.
The driver and passengers abandoned the vehicle after it got stuck, and the partially submerged Cybertruck was later removed from near the shoreline on the south side of the lake with help from the Grapevine Fire Department Water Rescue Team. Police said the driver was arrested on charges of operating a vehicle in a closed section of the lake and for other water safety equipment violations.
Grapevine Police on Monday
Grapevine Police Department spokesperson Katharina Gamboa said, "We wouldn't encourage willingly driving your vehicle into the water," and added, "You know, not only that, it's a safety concern, but it's also a legal concern as well," in comments reported by the 's US news partner CBS News.
The police statement said "the driver stated he intentionally drove into the lake to use the Cybertruck's "Wade Mode" feature" and that "the vehicle became disabled and took on water." Tesla's online manual says wade mode allows a Cybertruck to enter and drive through bodies of water such as rivers or creeks at a maximum depth of 81.5 cm, or 32 inches, measured from the bottom of the tire.
Tesla's wade mode
Tesla says its owner's manual warns drivers not to enter deep, fast-flowing bodies of water such as strong currents or rapids. The manual also says damage or water ingress to Cybertruck from driving in water is not covered by the warranty.
Tesla launched the Cybertruck in 2019 and rolled it out to the public in 2023. The truck's alleged use in Grapevine Lake put that feature under a different kind of scrutiny: a recovery operation, a disabled vehicle, and an arrest tied to lake access rules and water-safety violations.
Lake recovery in north Texas
Police said the vehicle was removed from near the south shoreline of Grapevine Lake with assistance from the Grapevine Fire Department Water Rescue Team. The case now sits with the arrest and the cited violations, not with the truck's advertised ability to move through shallow water.
