Elon Musk Reveals Tesla Cars Can Transform Into Boats
This is straight out of a Bond movie.
Elon Musk rules the roads (as the CEO of Tesla Motors), the galaxy (as the CEO of SpaceX), and now he’s taking aim at the sea.
The swashbuckling billionaire revealed on Twitter that a Tesla Model S can double as a makeshift boat.
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.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 19, 2016
Musk dropped the oddball amphibious claim shortly after sharing a viral video of a Model S plodding through a flood in Kazakhstan.
Tesla owner drives through a flooded tunnel & out the other side https://t.co/RmPxdZShhq
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 19, 2016
He noted that the spinning wheels acted as an engine and that the drive units and battery are sealed, waterproofing the vehicle. Still, he cautioned drivers against it.
Drive units and battery are sealed
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 19, 2016
It is uncertain whether Musk intended his Teslas to have these amphibious powers, but we wouldn’t put it past him.
In 2013, Musk bought the iconic Lotus Esprit submarine car from the Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me for a nearly million dollars at auction. He boasted then that he planned on getting the vehicle back into seafaring shape.
TIL: Elon Musk bought the Lotus Esprit from Spy Who Loved Me to make it submersible. http://t.co/42SUjICSum pic.twitter.com/yUFRQUqJDg
— Antti Hietala (@finnotype) October 15, 2015
“I was disappointed to learn that it can’t actually transform,” Musk told CNN Money. “What I’m going to do is upgrade it with a Tesla electric powertrain and try to make it transform for real.”
Whether or not that initial endeavor was fruitful, Musk tweeted that he is indeed working on a Bond-worthy sub car.
If curious abt TSWLM car, am still planning to do a sports sub car that can drive on roads. Just a side project. Limited market potential 🙂
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 19, 2016
It seems being “the real-life Tony Stark” just isn’t enough.
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