Cybertruck Driver Arrested After Driving Into Texas Lake to Test Wade Mode Feature

A 70-year-old Texas man was arrested Monday night after intentionally driving his Tesla Cybertruck into Grapevine Lake — and getting stuck.

Jimmy Jack McDaniel told police he drove the vehicle into the water near the Katie's Woods Park boat ramp in Grapevine, Texas, around 8 p.m. to test the Cybertruck's "Wade Mode" feature, which Tesla describes as allowing the vehicle to "enter and drive through bodies of water, such as rivers or creeks." The truck became disabled, began taking on water, and McDaniel and his two passengers abandoned it near the shoreline.

The Grapevine Fire Department's Water Rescue Team responded and helped remove the Cybertruck from the lake using a wrecker. No injuries were reported.

He Says He's Done It Before

McDaniel told reporters the truck itself was not the problem. He said he has driven the Cybertruck in the lake before without issue and even claims to have taken it into the Atlantic Ocean. Monday night, he said, was simply a "miscalculation" — he went too deep.

Adding another layer to the story: the two passengers were a German father and son visiting his neighbor, to whom McDaniel was apparently showing off the truck's capabilities.

The Charges

Grapevine police charged McDaniel with operating a vehicle in a closed section of the park and lake, not having a valid boat registration, and multiple water safety equipment violations — including no life jackets and no fire extinguisher on board. He remained in jail as of Tuesday.

What Wade Mode Actually Says

Tesla's Cybertruck owner's manual does include a Wade Mode feature, but comes with significant caveats. The manual states that drivers are responsible for gauging the depth of any body of water before entering, that damage from water is not covered by the warranty, and that soft or muddy underwater surfaces can cause the vehicle to sink. The maximum wade depth is listed at approximately 32 inches, measured from the bottom of the tire.

The feature's existence traces back to claims Elon Musk made in 2022, ahead of the Cybertruck's production launch, that the vehicle would be "waterproof enough" to serve as a boat and cross rivers, lakes, and even seas. McDaniel is not the first Cybertruck owner to take those claims literally and end up with a disabled vehicle and an expensive problem.

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