Photo: Chillin’ with Chet
We’ve seen the unofficial Tesla Boat Mode before, as well as Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai’s Model Y promo of the electric vehicle (EV) driving through the water, but for the first time we’re aware of, one YouTube channel has attempted a Tesla Model S Plaid “Submarine Mode,” attempting to fully submerge a Plaid into water.
In a video shared by Chillin’ with Chet earlier this month, Chet gets to the bottom of how the Model S Plaid handles water by driving it into a shallow body of water. In the video, Chet and his crew literally drive the Model S Plaid underwater, with a few added sealing features for the doors and windows.
The biggest danger to trying out this “Tesla Submarine Mode,” as Chet points out, is the potential for the car to short out completely – essentially totaling the new EV, damaging over $100,000 USD of new hardware.
Chet also visits a group of electrical engineers, who advise Chet on what could happen if the EV was damaged underwater, and what some good strategies to help prevent that outcome might be.
After outfitting the vehicle with extra seals, a bolstered skin, weighing it down and adding other waterproofing hardware, Chet and the crew took to the short body of water. With an additional chain attached to pull the Plaid if it stops working, Chet drives straight into the water, and the Plaid quickly becomes nearly fully submerged.
You can see Chet’s full “Submarine Mode” take in the Tesla Model S Plaid below, and you can rest assured that Chet’s car is doing okay after the shoot.
“I got a lot of water coming in, let’s go,” says Chet as he asks his team to “pull hard! Pull hard!”. Eventually, the rope towing the Model S Plaid breaks but the car is still able to get into gear and drive out at the end.
