--- description: Tesla’s Model S vehicles can temporarily double as a boat, the automobile’s founder and CEO Elon Musk said Sunday title: Tesla Cars Have An Insane Hidden Feature image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38f4900951dd60b5/6988987c5f570f2fdfb21651/tesla-model-s-water.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Tesla Cars Have An Insane Hidden Feature  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 19, 2016 7:19 PM CUT  A Tesla Model S automobile stands in a light tunnel during quality control checks ahead of European shipping from the Tesla Motors Inc. factory in Tilburg, Netherlands, on Oct. 8, 2015. A Tesla Model S automobile stands in a light tunnel during quality control checks ahead of European shipping from the Tesla Motors Inc. factory in Tilburg, Netherlands, on Oct. 8, 2015.Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 19, 2016 7:19 PM CUT [Tesla’s Model S ](http://time.com/3721049/tesla-model-s-consumer-reports-car/ "undefined")vehicles can temporarily double as a boat, the automobile’s founder and [CEO Elon Musk said Sunday](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/744551674082136066 "undefined"). Musk wrote on Twitter that the all-electric Model S “floats well enough to turn it into a boat for short periods of time,” although he added that the company definitely doesn’t recommend testing that out. The ability to drive through water comes from the car’s wheel rotation, he explained. > [](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/744551674082136066) Musk had previously tweeted out a story about a Tesla owner [reportedly](http://electrek.co/2016/06/18/tesla-model-s-driving-swimming-flooded-tunnel-video/ "undefined") driving a Model S car through a flooded tunnel in Russia and successfully coming out of the other side. The Tesla founder said he was “still planning to do a sports sub car that can drive on roads” as a “side project” with limited market potential. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4374286/teslas-model-s-boat-elon-musk/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4374286/teslas-model-s-boat-elon-musk/"},"headline":"Tesla Cars Have An Insane Hidden Feature","datePublished":"2016-06-19T19:19:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T09:48:21.763Z","description":"It \"floats well enough to turn it into a boat for short periods of time\"","url":"https://time.com/4374286/teslas-model-s-boat-elon-musk/","keywords":["Autos"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38f4900951dd60b5/6988987c5f570f2fdfb21651/tesla-model-s-water.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38f4900951dd60b5/6988987c5f570f2fdfb21651/tesla-model-s-water.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Assembly Of Tesla Model S Electric Automobiles At A Tesla Motors Inc. Factory","caption":"A Tesla Model S automobile stands in a light tunnel during quality control checks ahead of European shipping from the Tesla Motors Inc. factory in Tilburg, Netherlands, on Oct. 8, 2015.","creditText":"Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4374286/teslas-model-s-boat-elon-musk/","name":"Tesla Cars Have An Insane Hidden Feature"}}]}] ```