Underwater Mode
Someone posted a Youtube video of themselves driving a Tesla Model S through a flooded tunnel in Kazakhstan last week, and making it through with the car seemingly unscathed. While it wasn’t clear if the car drove through or floated, Tesla CEO Elon Musk weighed in on the incident, and fanned speculations further that the Tesla Model S may be waterproof.
“We *def* don't recommended this, but Model S floats well enough to turn it into a boat for short periods of time. Thrust via wheel rotation,” he tweeted.
Although the tweet did not give any specific explanation as to how the Tesla Model S could “float well enough,” from the looks of it, the vehicle is at least water-resistant. All Tesla cars go through water testing, but the company does not advertise it as water-resistant, and they do not cover flood damages in their warranty.
The Tesla Model S has been garnering widespread praise due to its features and capabilities, including its "bioweapon defense mode." Its abrupt speed switches have aptly been named "insane mode" and "ludicrous mode." This seemingly underwater mode is an addition to its already heavy creds.
Submarine Car
It is no secret that Musk has long been fascinated by the concept of submarine cars. He even bought James Bond’s Lotus Esprit (the one that drove off a pier and transformed into a submarine) at an auction for $989,000 which he confirmed in 2013.
"It was amazing as a little kid in South Africa to watch James Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me drive his Lotus Esprit off a pier, press a button and have it transform into a submarine underwater," Musk wrote in response to an email from USA TODAY. "I was disappointed to learn that it can't actually transform. What I'm going to do is upgrade it with a Tesla electric powertrain and try to make it transform for real."
Musk has been known to make outrageous statements, but so far he has been making true of his pledges bit by bit. So will we see transforming underwater cars soon?
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