A few days ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the Tesla Cybertruck was able to remain amphibious for a while and even serve as a boat of sorts in a pinch. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources has now chimed in, urging future owners to disregard these dangerous illusions.
There are many things that can go wrong here. For one, as soon as you hit water in a pickup truck, harmful substances will leak out and pollute the water – not to mention that these substances were better off serving their purpose in your car, protecting it from wear and damage. Not only that, but a sudden small movement in the wrong direction can cause an amphibious car to flip over, lose all control and sink in a matter of seconds. The Department posted a pic of a half-sunken car to prove its point.
As for Musk, most of his readers have probably grown used to his sensationalist claims by now. The first time he claimed the Cybertruck was water-sealed well enough to traverse ‘rivers, lakes and even seas unless choppy’ was in the spring of 2020.