Environment
Tesla Cybertruck is going to be ‘waterproof enough’ to cross rivers
Elon Musk says that Tesla Cybertruck is going to be “waterproof enough” to cross rivers and serve as a boat for short periods.
It looks like Musk read Electrek this morning when we reported on the world’s first fully electric amphibious 8×8 XTV vehicle because he quickly announced that the Tesla Cybertruck will pretty much be amphibious.
The Tesla CEO announced on Twitter today:
Cybertruck will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat, so it can cross rivers, lakes and even seas that aren’t too choppy.
Musk added that the goal is for a Cybertruck to be able to cross the water between SpaceX’s Starbase and South Padre Island in Texas:
Needs be able to get from Starbase to South Padre Island, which requires crossing the channel.
This would mean that the Cybertruck would need to be able to travel in the water for about 360 meters (1,100 feet), which is the shortest distance in the Brazos Santiago Pass that separates the island and where Starbase is located:
It’s not the first time that Musk has talked about Tesla vehicles being able to be used as a boat.
A few years ago, the CEO said that the Model S could almost be used as a boat after a Tesla Model S was spotted driving (or swimming) through a flooded tunnel – although the CEO made it clear it wasn’t recommended.
In 2020, he did say that people would be able to turn the Cybertruck into a boat, and some plan to take that to a whole new level.
We previously reported on a company developing a conversion kit that can quickly turn a Cybertruck into a catamaran, pictured below.
But now, it sounds like the Cybertruck is going to come with an undercarriage “waterproof enough” to be able to float, and with the propulsion from the wheels, drivers should be able to get around slowly in calm water.
People looking forward to the Cybertruck as an off-road vehicle will be happy that some water shouldn’t make them too nervous.
The Tesla Cybertruck is expected to enter production in mid-2023 at Gigafactory Texas.
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