Tesla Cybertruck Wade mode's water depth and duration revealed as Elon Musk teases floating mod

Besides the off-road Wade mode that allows Tesla's Cybertruck to cross rivers and generally splash around in waist-deep water, Elon Musk just teased that a mod is coming to make it fully floatable.

"We are going to offer a mod package that enables Cybertruck to traverse at least 100m of water as a boat," he announced, adding that Tesla "mostly just needs to upgrade cabin door seals." Elon inferred something similar last year, claiming that the Cybertruck "will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat, so it can cross rivers, lakes & even seas that aren’t too choppy" in order to make it "from Starbase to South Padre Island, which requires crossing the channel."

None of that materialized in the retail Cybertruck but the Wade mode, yet Tesla did leave hints that it has planned or is planning floating functionality. The lines and connection valve from the air suspension tank to the battery pack that pressurize it as an extra precaution against ingress, for instance, are called a "Scuba Pack Airline" and a "scuba valve block assembly," respectively.

Cybertruck Wade mode water depth

While it's anyone's guess what exactly an amphibious Cybertruck "Boat" mod would entail, the Wade mode is present and ready to take on rivers and streams. Not lakes, though, as Tesla advises that it's viable until the water level reaches the top of the bumper.

That's 32 inches of Cybertruck Wade mode water depth, less than the Rivian R1T's 43 inches, but more than a Land Cruiser's 28 inches, and about what the Ford F-150 Raptor is rated for. The additional pressurizing with compression from the air tank takes about 10 minutes, says Tesla, at which point Wade mode is fully active and lasts up to 30 minutes, leaving the Cybertruck driver with enough time to cross basins far and wide.

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