Elon Musk promised that the Tesla Cybertruck could ford water like any SUV. And recent tests with the electric truck confirm this. However, not everything went as planned, as some parts fell out of place and some switches stopped working.
Already in 2022, Elon Musk spoke about the watertightness of the Tesla Cybertruck, ensuring that it would allow it to cross lakes and seas. The electric pick-up still needed another year just to reach the market, but Musk’s dream of the Cybertruck becoming an amphibious vehicle is still alive and this would have led the brand’s engineers to work on it.
While it is happening (or not), on the TechRax YouTube channel they have tested the Tesla Cybertruck through water and the result will surprise you for the better, but also for the worse. Of course, the test is very positive and ends up agreeing with Musk, who stated that the pick-up would be capable of being a boat for short periods of time.
The Tesla Cybertruck is equipped with a “Wading Mode” that can only be accessed when the electric truck is in off-road mode. After activating it, the Cybertruck will still need another 10 minutes to pressurize the battery pack in order to wade deep water without damaging it.
And once everything is ready, Tesla has configured it to work for only 30 minutes before deactivating this mode automatically. To this we must add the fact that the brand does not cover possible damage caused to the vehicle when it is in this “Fording Mode” within its warranty. It reminds me of the first ‘water-resistant’ smartphones…
Can the Tesla Cybertruck ford water without problems?
As you can see in the video that illustrates this article, the Cybertruck now seems very capable of fording deep water, such as a river or a flooded road. In the tests, it managed to make several passes through the water at different depths without losing momentum, in some cases going into areas where the water is above the hood of the truck.
However, the test was not a resounding success. The protagonists of the video mention that two pieces of plastic moved from their original positions. Apparently the inner fender liner rotated, but ended up returning to its position. A section of the rear bumper also came off in testing.
Lastly, and perhaps the most significant in terms of damage caused in this test, the exterior buttons that allow operating both the folding door of the cargo bed and the cover that closes the bed have stopped working. Both systems remain operational using the mobile application, but not from the physical buttons of the vehicle.
Don’t miss the video (in English) to learn more details about this water test with the Tesla Cybertruck.