You’ve probably seen the video. A matte black, angular hunk of stainless steel bobbing—and then definitely not bobbing—in the murky waters of Ventura Harbor. It’s the kind of clip that makes you wince and laugh at the same time. On March 10, 2025, a Tesla Cybertruck owner turned a routine jet ski launch into a multi-agency rescue mission. Honestly, it was a mess.
It wasn't just a car in a pond. It was a $100,000 "technological marvel" sitting eight feet deep in the Pacific.
People love a good fail, especially when it involves a vehicle that was marketed as being "waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat." But before we get into the memes and the Musk tweets, we should look at how this actually went down. It wasn't some high-tech glitch or an autopilot ghost. It was just good old-fashioned human error.
The Ventura Harbor Sink: A Minute-by-Minute Mess
Around 11:00 a.m. on a Monday, the Ventura Harbor Patrol was doing their usual rounds near the boat launch on Anchors Way. They expected to see seagulls and maybe a frustrated boater. Instead, they saw a Cybertruck floating. Well, "floating" is a generous term. It was more like "drifting toward its doom."
The driver had been trying to launch a jet ski. Simple enough, right? Except he got his gears mixed up. He thought he was in drive to pull up the ramp, but he was actually in reverse. He hit the accelerator. The truck didn't go up. It went back. Fast.
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By the time the Harbor Patrol got there, the truck was already sinking. The driver had scrambled out of the window—the windows were down, by the way—and watched as his prize possession became an expensive anchor. Within minutes, the truck was completely submerged. It didn’t just sit on the ramp; it slid under a dock, its front wheels locked in a right turn.
Why This Wasn't Just a Typical "Tow Job"
If a 1998 Ford F-150 sinks at a boat ramp, you call a tow truck and call it a day. When it’s a 7,000-pound Tesla Cybertruck in saltwater, the vibe changes completely. Fire crews, the U.S. Coast Guard, and even a game warden from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife showed up. Why? Because of the batteries.
Lithium-ion batteries and salt water are basically mortal enemies. There was a legitimate fear that the truck would have an "adverse reaction"—which is the polite way of saying it might explode or start a chemical fire that you can't put out with a standard hose.
The Recovery Team
- Ventura City Fire Department: On standby for potential battery fires.
- TowBoatUS Ventura: Dispatched a diver (Captain Carson Shevitz) to go under the murky water.
- Tesla Field Engineer: Yes, a literal engineer from Tesla showed up to tell everyone what not to touch.
- Redline Towing: The guys who had to actually haul the waterlogged beast onto a flatbed.
The diver had to swim down, find a hook point on a vehicle that basically has no traditional frame rails, and avoid getting pinned. It took over two hours of "researching potential hazards" before they even pulled it out. They had to create a 45-foot "defensible space" around the truck once it was on land, just in case it decided to self-immolate.
The "Boat Mode" Elephant in the Room
We have to talk about Elon Musk's tweets. Back in 2022, he claimed the Cybertruck would be "waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat, so it can cross rivers, lakes and even seas that aren't too choppy."
That’s a bold claim. It’s also one that hasn't exactly made it into the owner's manual in a way that protects your warranty.
Tesla does have a Wade Mode. It’s pretty cool, technically speaking. When you turn it on, the air suspension raises the truck to its max height and, more importantly, it uses the onboard air compressors to pressurize the battery pack. The idea is that positive pressure keeps water from seeping into the sensitive bits.
But there are catches. Big ones.
- Preparation Time: It takes about 10 minutes to fully pressurize. If you accidentally reverse into a harbor, you don't have 10 minutes.
- Depth Limits: Tesla says the wading depth is about 32 inches. Ventura Harbor is way deeper than 32 inches.
- The Warranty Trap: Tesla explicitly states that damage from off-roading or water ingress isn't covered.
Basically, the Cybertruck is a boat in the same way a rock is a boat. It’ll stay on top for a second if you throw it right, but eventually, physics wins. In the Ventura case, the windows were open and the driver’s door was opened during the escape. Even if it could float, that's like trying to float a bucket with a hole in the bottom.
Saltwater: The Silent Killer of EVs
You might wonder if that truck is back on the road today. Honestly? Not a chance. Saltwater is incredibly corrosive. It doesn't just get things wet; it leaves behind salt crystals that conduct electricity and eat through metal.
When an EV is submerged in the ocean, the minerals in the water can create "bridges" between battery cells. This leads to a short circuit, which leads to heat, which leads to thermal runaway. This is why the fire department was so stressed. Once those batteries start burning, they stay burning.
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The Ventura Cybertruck was seen being towed away with water literally pouring out of the doors and crevices. It was likely headed straight to a salvage yard or a Tesla research facility to see exactly how much of a "pool on wheels" it had become.
Lessons for the Rest of Us
So, what do we actually learn from the Ventura Harbor incident? Besides the fact that you should double-check your gear before flooring it on a boat ramp.
- Human Error Trumps Tech: You can have the most advanced "drive-by-wire" system in the world (which the Cybertruck has), but if you tell it to go backward into the ocean, it will.
- Don't Trust the Hype: "Boat mode" is a marketing dream, not a nautical reality. If it doesn't have a propeller and a rudder, keep it on the pavement.
- The Weight Factor: These trucks are heavy. Once they start sliding on a slippery, algae-covered ramp, they aren't stopping. Gravity is a beast when you're dealing with three and a half tons of steel.
If you find yourself at a boat launch, maybe skip the "Wade Mode" experiments and just focus on the trailer. And maybe, just maybe, keep your windows up until the jet ski is actually in the water.
What to do if your EV gets wet:
- Never try to start it: If water got into the battery or the drive units, turning it on is a recipe for a fire.
- Contact the manufacturer: Specifically for Teslas, they usually want to send a field engineer if there's been deep submersion.
- Check your insurance: Most "accidental submersion" cases are covered, but "intentional boat testing" might get your claim denied faster than you can say "Starbase."
The Ventura incident wasn't the first time a car went into the drink, and it won't be the last. But it serves as a pretty stark reminder: no matter how much your truck looks like a spaceship, it still has to follow the rules of the sea.
If you're looking to protect your own EV, the best "Wade Mode" is simply staying on high ground. If you really need to cross a channel, just take the ferry. It’s cheaper than a $100,000 salvage title.