Just off the beach in Santa Barbara, California, authorities found a white Tesla Model 3 halfway under the water. The Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Department discovered the car around 8 a.m. local time on Monday morning. The incident is still under investigation as authorities try to determine just how the all-electric vehicle ended up swimming with the fishes.
According to reporter John Palminteri, who posted about the incident on Twitter, firefighters immediately searched the vehicle and the surrounding area for anyone associated with the Tesla. Ultimately, nobody was found. The Santa Barbara CO. Sheriff’s Department also went to work trying to figure out what exactly took place.
Raquel Zick, public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office told Carscoops, “We made sure that the vehicle wasn’t reported as stolen and notified the registered owner that it was their responsibility to have it recovered.” According to Zick, this situation wasn’t too far different from the Bronco we told you about during the summer which suffered a similar fate.
Read: Elon Musk Says The Tesla Cybertruck Will Be Waterproof And “Serve As A Boat”
A Tesla was found floating in the ocean off Carpinteria this morning about 8 a.m. Firefighters searched the car along with the surrounding area, but no one was found. The Santa Barbara Co. Sheriff’s Dept. is investigating. (photos: Carpinteria fire, Robin Karlsson, Bill Ehrgott) pic.twitter.com/X1CAmcdL4V
— John Palminteri (@JohnPalminteri) October 31, 2022
“They drove it on the beach, got stuck, left it there and the tide came in,” Zick said. At that point, things can go from bad to worse incredibly fast. As of this writing, no reports of hazardous materials having spilled into the marsh have been made. Now it seems that the owner will have to go to extreme lengths to retrieve the Tesla.
Back when that Ford Bronco was recovered from a sandbar after multiple days at sea, it required a specialized team and incredibly sophisticated tools to get the SUV out. Heavy-duty airbags ended up being the only way to get it out of the sand so that it could be towed into shore.
Thankfully, nobody was injured and there aren’t pollutants spilling into the ecosystem. One Tesla owner has also likely learned that their vehicle isn’t made to handle deep water. Take a look at the video below from local news channel 3 and 12 for a few more shots of the submerged Model 3.