A Texas man was arrested Monday after police said he drove his Tesla Cybertruck into Grapevine Lake to try the vehicle’s Wade Mode feature. The truck became stuck and partially submerged, forcing a rescue on the south side of the lake in north Texas.
Grapevine police said officers were called to recover the vehicle after the driver and passengers abandoned it when it took on water. The partially submerged Cybertruck was pulled from near the shoreline with help from the Grapevine Fire Department Water Rescue Team.
Police said the driver told them he intentionally drove into the lake to use Wade Mode, a feature Tesla says is designed “to enter and drive through bodies of water, such as rivers or creeks.” Tesla says the maximum wade depth is 81.5 cm, or 32 inches, measured from the bottom of the tire. The company also says drivers are responsible for gauging the depth of any body of water before entering and warns that damage or water ingress from driving in water is not covered by the warranty.
The arrest came as the odd-looking pickup’s ability to handle water had become one of its most talked-about features since the Cybertruck was launched in 2019 and rolled out to the public in 2023. But Tesla’s own manual draws a hard line: it warns against driving in deep, fast-flowing water, including strong currents or rapids, and says if water becomes too deep, drivers should return to shallower water or dry land.
That warning matters in Texas as much as it does in a showroom. Grapevine police said entering shallow freshwater areas can create legal and safety concerns under state law, and the driver was arrested on charges of operating a vehicle in a closed section of the lake and for other water safety equipment violations. Katharina Gamboa, a police spokeswoman, said, “We wouldn't encourage willingly driving your vehicle into the water,” adding, “You know, not only that, it's a safety concern, but it's also a legal concern as well.”
The truck was removed after becoming disabled in the water, a reminder that a vehicle may be physically capable of entering the lake without being capable of coming back out. Police said the driver intentionally tested the feature, but the result was not a demonstration of what Wade Mode can do so much as a cautionary example of what happens when a driver ignores the limits Tesla puts in its own manual.
