Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed one of the wildest features teased for the Cybertruck, the ability to briefly use it as a boat, will actually become a reality, although you will have to pay extra to be able to take your electric truck out on the water.
With a little over four years between the unveiling of the prototype and the first deliveries, Musk had a lot of time to think about possible features for the Cybertruck. One of his craziest ideas came in September 2022 when Musk teased on X (formerly Twitter) that the Cybertruck “will be waterproof enough to briefly serve as a boat.” Musk even built on the idea, later suggesting that it was possible it could even cross small bodies of water if a small propeller was attached to the tow hitch, or that they may be able to design the wheels in such a way that they would be able to provide enough thrust to move the Cybertruck through water.
However, talk around the idea of using the Cybertruck as a boat went quiet after that, with no more mentions of that ability in the lead up to the first deliveries last month at Giga Texas. However, it has since been uncovered the Cybertruck has a “Wade Mode,” which according to Tesla’s VP Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy pressurizes the battery pack by forcing a small amount of air from the air suspension inside the pack. Even though the pack is already waterproof, this was added as a second layer of safety to prevent any water ingress, Moravy explained, for example when attempting to cross a river when off-roading.
But Tesla apparently has bigger plans than just driving the Cybertuck across a river, as the company will offer a package that will turn the Cybertruck into a boat that will be able to “traverse at least 100m of water,” according to a post from Musk last night on X.
Musk didn’t provide any details on what the optional package will include, nor its pricing or availability, except to say it will include upgraded door seals to keep the water out of the cabin.
We are going to offer a mod package that enables Cybertruck to traverse at least 100m of water as a boat. Mostly just need to upgrade cabin door seals.
Musk had previously suggested the Cybertruck would be able to cross the channel to reach South Padre Island from the SpaceX Starbase facility in Boca Chica, which is a little less than 500 meters across.
We are going to offer a mod package that enables Cybertruck to traverse at least 100m of water as a boat.
Mostly just need to upgrade cabin door seals.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 19, 2023
