I was watching a Cybertruck driver “test the truck’s wade mode,” and was treated to some accidental comedy. Check this out:
“Wow, What a Beast!” Here’s the Non-Exhaustive List of Damages
The drive is pretty uneventful, but the aftermath? It’s pretty eventful. The repair bill just keeps multiplying. The driver reports:
- The powered truck bed cover and tailgate electronics are fried. I guess the buttons to open the tailgate are unshielded electronics? I don’t know that I love that look.
- Water AUDIBLY SLOSHING AROUND in the truck’s frame. WOW. Let’s hope that’s not anywhere near the super sensitive main battery pack…
- A wheel well cover detached. Bolts yanked loose and gone. Not sheared… just missing in action. That is… not typically how automotive bolts work.
- Some part of the tailgate assembly popped loose too. Neat!
The craziest part is how normal the driver treats this. Like this is just what happens when you drive through a little water. It really isn’t.
Also: for all y’all who don’t get flooding, if you see a road under water and don’t know how deep it is… don’t drive in it. If you have to, make sure your vehicle can handle the depth, and go slow. Don’t bomb into it like this dumbass did. That’s a real quick way to damage your vehicle (and/or yourself).
Not Saying You SHOULD Do This in Your Toyota… Just That You CAN Do This in Your Toyota
Now, you might be thinking… how much water can a normal truck handle?
Turns out: a stupid amount. A rookie Toyota off-roader set his bone-stock Tacoma TRD truck to full-on submarine mode and inflicted zero dollars of damage. Don’t do this, by the way.
Very Sketchy 🤦🏻♂️
byu/brightlumens inToyotaTacoma
The driver/submariner reports:
“Tacomas are [redacted] insane, just absolutely incredible. After we almost ate this, we drove an hour straight right into snow. Incredible trucks, very impressed as a first time Tacoma owner.”
Hahaha, as long as you’re having fun, bröther. That Tacoma TRD is rated for slightly less water than the height of the tires (22.5 inches, or an unfathomable amount of centimeters). Clearly, they installed those waterproofing seals TIGHT at the factory. They drive off like nothing happened.
Wait, Isn’t the Cybertruck Meant to be a Boat, Too?
Now, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Cybertruck could handle water below the wheel wells. Most trucks can handle that amount of water, and the Cybertruck’s hype-cycle made a big deal out of its waterproofing.
With a battery pack that explodes if it’s exposed to too much salt water, the waterproofing is sort of a big deal from a safety standpoint.
And then there’s the time the CEO casually tweeted that the Cybertruck could drive through “open seas.” Eventually, maybe even drive the wet way from Starbase to South Padre Island, which is a half-klick of open ocean.
Sure thing, man. You first.
Fantasy, Meet Reality
Naturally, that kind of fantasy talk hits just right for the exact kind of guy who reads an Elon Twitter thread and immediately heads for the nearest culvert to see for themselves.
You can see the end result: a laundry list of damages when our first guy took his Cybertruck through a completely manageable amount of water.
For the record, the Cybertruck manual states that Wade Mode is rated for “approximately 32 inches” of water. Love when the manual approximates. “Approximately” 32 inches is also the stock tire height. But our guy’s tires? Nowhere near submerged. And yet, here we are.
Better luck next time, I guess.
Up next: who off-roads better… Tesla’s best luxury pickup truck, or a late-model Subaru wagon? You already know the answer, but it should be funny to watch anyhow.
