A Texas man allegedly drove his Tesla $TSLA Cybertruck into a local lake to test the vehicle's "Wade Mode" feature, and was arrested after the truck became disabled and took on water, police said.
The man told police he drove the electric pickup into Grapevine Lake on purpose to try the vehicle's "Wade Mode" feature
Credit: Zein.DTX, Instagram
A Texas man allegedly drove his Tesla $TSLA Cybertruck into a local lake to test the vehicle's "Wade Mode" feature, and was arrested after the truck became disabled and took on water, police said.
Around 8 p.m. Monday, the Grapevine Police Department said its officers arrived at Katie's Woods Park boat ramp on Grapevine Lake to find the electric pickup sitting in the water close to shore. Jimmy Jack McDaniel told authorities he had driven the vehicle into the lake to activate Wade Mode, according to CBS News. After the occupants got out of the stricken truck, crews from the Grapevine Fire Department's Water Rescue Team were called in to pull it free.
Police said McDaniel faces charges that include taking a motor vehicle into a restricted section of the park and lake, carrying no valid boat registration, and a string of water safety equipment violations. According to Electrek, McDaniel remained in jail as of Tuesday.
Tesla's Cybertruck owner's manual describes Wade Mode as a feature that "allows Cybertruck to enter and drive through bodies of water, such as rivers or creeks." Topping out at roughly 32 inches from the bottom of the tire, the listed depth limit comes alongside a requirement that owners assess how deep any water is before driving into it. Tesla's documentation further notes that a squishy or muddy lakebed can pull the truck deeper into the water, and that any water-related damage falls outside warranty coverage.
"We wouldn't encourage willingly driving your vehicle into the water," Grapevine Police Department spokesperson Katharina Gamboa told CBS News. "Not only is it a safety concern, but it's also a legal concern as well."
Authorities noted that Grapevine's boat ramps exist to serve properly registered watercraft, and driving a car down one is explicitly prohibited.
The incident is not the first time a Cybertruck owner has run into trouble attempting to use Wade Mode in open water. In Truckee, California, the California Highway Patrol was called out to free a Cybertruck whose owner had activated Wade Mode and driven into the water, according to Electrek. A different truck went under in Ventura harbor, and recovering it took a joint response from the fire department, Harbor Patrol, and Coast Guard. A European-imported Cybertruck similarly found itself mired in a Slovak lake when its owner tried out the same capability, according to Electrek.
The Cybertruck has faced a difficult stretch more broadly. Tesla added a lower-priced dual-motor Cybertruck at $59,990 this month as U.S. sales fell to 20,237 units in 2025 from 38,965 in 2024, a 48.1% decline, according to Cox Automotive's Kelley Blue Book.
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