Tesla Cybertruck sank when launching a jetski after Musk said you could use the truck as a boat

A Tesla Cybertruck sank in Ventura harbor in California when trying to launch a jetski despite Tesla CEO Elon Musk saying that you could use the truck as a boat.

Elon Musk has often made claims before about how Tesla vehicles could float and briefly serve as a boat.

They have never been taken too seriously because Tesla’s warranty says something different about taking the vehicle into the water.

However, the CEO doubled down on the claim with Cybertruck.

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Ahead of launching the production version of the Cybertruck, Musk claimed the vehicle would be “waterproof enough” to serve as a boat and cross rivers:

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.

The CEO 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, which is about 360 meters (1,100 feet).

We have been taking the Cybertruck more seriously with water because we learned that Tesla built a ‘wade mode’ for the truck to be able to go into the water. Tesla says the mode increases the ride height to the max and “pressurizes the battery pack.”

The problem is that it is activated through the off-roading mode, which is not covered under Tesla’s warranty – so we are taking everything with a grain of salt.

Tesla Cybertruck Sank in Ventura

A Tesla owner in California learned the hard way that Cybertruck is not a boat.

The incident happened in Ventura harbor in California on Monday. The Cybertruck owner was launching a jet ski on the boat ramp when he couldn’t get the truck out of the water (via Safety for Citizens)

Beginning shortly before 11:00am, a man had to scramble out of his Cybertruck Monday morning, March 10 of 2025, after the truck fell into the harbor. The man was attempting to launch a jet ski at the time of the accident.

The owner managed to get out, but the truck sank into the water:

The Cybertruck sunk and became completely submerged off the boat launch ramp. A diver from the Coast Guard assisted a tow driver in attaching cables and ropes to the vehicle.

The rescue effort involved the Ventura City Fire Department, Vessel Assist, Tow Boat US, Harbor Patrol, additional Harbor resources, and the Coast Guard.

They shared a few pictures of the rescue effort:

Electrek’s Take

To be fair, it could also be a user error, but either way, I wouldn’t take the Cybertruck into any body of water.

Meanwhile, BYD is just trolling Tesla by actually doing what Elon claimed the Cybertruck would be capable of doing:

It really feels like Tesla is being surpassed based on every metric possible.

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