It’s about to get much crazier if you thought Tesla’s Cybertruck was strange enough. The controversial stainless steel truck will be able to operate as a short-distance boat, according to CEO Elon Musk, via X on Monday. This is because of an unidentified mod package that will enable at least 100 meters of water transport.
Musk responded to a post made by Sawyer Merritt, an investor in Tesla and businessman in the garment industry. Merritt posted a video snippet from an interview with Jay Leno in which vice president of vehicle engineering at Tesla, Lars Moravy, discussed the unusual engineering used in the Cybertruck. According to Moravy, “Elon did want to make it a boat.” “The car nearly floats; you might need to add some additional buoyancy to keep it going,” Moravy said to Leno. “You could figure out how to plug in an outboard motor there, turn it on from your screen, and go boating if you’re feeling particularly inventive.”
Musk responded in a matter of hours. The mod kit in question, he continued, “mostly just needs to upgrade cabin door seals,” a process that, if done incorrectly, would completely destroy the Cybertruck’s interior, which is heavily reliant on leather and electronics.
Musk does say a lot of things, but not all of them are accurate or feasible. Delivery of Cybertrucks was supposed to begin in 2021, however due to multiple design faults, the millionaire CEO had to postpone this until 2022 and then 2024. Although Tesla came close to hitting its goal, deliveries actually began in Q4. Things were better earlier this year, which led the company to move forward the scheduled deliveries to Q3 2023. Musk informed shareholders that Tesla had “dug our own grave with the Cybertruck,” a reference to the vehicle’s unconventional materials and peculiar structure, just before deliveries began.
This suggests that you should probably ignore Musk’s claim that the Cybertruck boat is real. Not only is it likely to be harder than it seems to make the Cybertruck waterproof and functional, but it may also be difficult to use the mod package. Before launching their vessel, boat owners must, in many places, obtain a boater card from the state, complete a boating safety course, or meet other legal criteria.