A Tesla Cybertruck Owner Reports That His Truck Died After He Rinsed It With High-Pressure Water. Tesla Responded, Saying, “You Must Activate Car Wash Mode Before Washing"

A Cybertruck owner from California reports that his vehicle died and became unresponsive after rinsing it with high-pressure water.

The ordeal began when the owner took his truck through a self-service car wash.

Initially, the Cybertruck went through the wash without any major issues; however, the problem started once the truck exited the wash and the owner decided to rinse it using high-pressure water. 

A few seconds after starting to rinse, the owner says the truck became completely unresponsive. The 18-inch touchscreen went dark, the running daylight lights turned off, the doors wouldn’t open, and the vehicle was entirely unresponsive.

This situation is troubling enough, but it got worse when the owner contacted Tesla Support for assistance.

Tesla responded by saying it was the owner's fault for bricking the Cybertruck, as he had not activated the vehicle’s “Car Wash Mode” before washing it.

The frustrated Cybertruck owner shared his story with a local news station, which reported on what happened.

The news report states… 

“Breaking news: a Cybertruck owner from California just went through what might be one of the most expensive car washes of his life. 

At a perfectly normal self-service station, there was no accident, no off-roading; he simply sprayed his truck with water, and within 10 seconds of the high-pressure rinse, the Cybertruck went completely dark. 

The touchscreen froze, the doors wouldn’t open; it was as if this $100,000 steel truck had raised the white flag in front of a bucket of soap.

What happened next was even more absurd. When he reached out to Tesla Support, he didn’t receive a solution; instead, they sent him a link to the user manual. 

Tesla’s exact words were: “Please refer to page 198; you must activate Car Wash Mode before washing.”  

Yes, really, before cleaning your Cybertruck, you're expected to tap through the central touchscreen and manually inform the vehicle that you’re about to wash it. 

If you need to read a manual before rinsing your truck, do you still trust it to get you through the end of the world?”

This is definitely not ideal; however, looking at the comments, several Tesla fans and Cybertruck owners came to the EV maker’s defense, claiming the news report is inaccurate.

A Cyber truck owner in California washed their car through an automatic car wash and it totally destroyed it. Apparently there is a button you have to push to let the truck system know it’s being washed beforehand & the warranty doesn’t cover this damage if not done correctly!😡 pic.twitter.com/chwinIVL4W

— Suzie rizzio (@Suzierizzo1) May 28, 2025

A Tesla fan and Cybertruck owner, who goes by the username Greggertruck on X, wrote… 

“Owner here: this report is horse dung.”  

Another Tesla fan, Richard de los Santos, simply responded by writing, “Fake.”  

Several other Tesla fans invoked Grok, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, asking whether this news report was false. 

The AI chatbot has been integrated on X and can answer questions directly below as comments.

 A fellow Tesla fan, Ronnie Mack, writes… 

“That’s bogus. @grok, is this garbage story true?”  

Another Tesla fan asked… 

“@grok, is this real?”  

Tesla fans were hoping to discredit the news report; however, surprisingly, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot responded, confirming that the news report is real.

Grok states…  

“The claim that a Tesla Cybertruck can be damaged in a car wash without 'Car Wash Mode' is likely true, based on Tesla's manual and owner reports.

The manual warns that failing to activate this mode can damage components like the charge port or wipers, and such damage isn't covered by the warranty.

Some owners have reported issues like touchscreen freezes after car washes without the mode. 

However, needing a special mode for a routine task seems overly complex to some, and the issue may not affect all vehicles. Always use "Car Wash Mode" to avoid risks.”

Here, it's important to note that even if the Cybertruck owner didn’t activate “Car Wash Mode,” the truck still shouldn’t have been bricked.

Car Wash Mode is essential for Tesla vehicles, as they feature automatic functions like auto wipers that activate when they detect water. Additionally, the automatic car wash brushes may press against the charging port, causing it to open. If this port stays open, it could sustain damage from the automatic car wash equipment. 

Car Wash Mode also ensures that all windows are closed, puts the vehicle in neutral, and prevents the parking brakes from engaging.

These are all good ideas; however, the problem here wasn't that the automatic wipers started operating and were damaged by the car wash, nor was it that the charge port opened and became damaged. 

For this Cybertruck owner, the vehicle became completely bricked after passing through a car wash.

This is certainly much more troubling and an issue beyond what is addressed in Tesla’s Owner's Manual, and so far, we have seen several reports of bricked Cybertrucks after car washes.

Referring to Elon Musk’s biography by Walter Isaacson, some have speculated that the reason the trucks become bricked after a wash relates to a decision made by Musk during the early days of the Cybertruck production ramp. 

According to the biography, Tesla was facing issues with the Cybertruck production line, particularly in the section of the factory responsible for applying water sealant to the vehicle floor. 

Musk asked Tesla engineers, and they determined that the sealant was only necessary on rare occasions, such as during hurricanes. This led Musk to eliminate the sealing process altogether, allowing the Cybertruck production line to ramp up quickly. 

There is no conclusive way to tie this decision to the reported string of bricked Cybertrucks after a car wash. 

That said, regardless of the cause, Tesla should take responsibility for fixing a bricked Cybertruck under warranty after a wash.

However, please let me know your thoughts in the comments. Share your ideas by clicking the RED “Add new comment” button below. Also, be sure to visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.

Image: Screenshot from Suzie Rizzio’s video on X

For more information, check out: A Cybertruck Buyer Says Tesla Sold Him a Brand-New Cybertruck at an $8,000 Discount – The Catch is He Can’t Drive It Because the Cybertruck Needs Safety Repairs Ahead of Delivery

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and the evolution of the EV space daily for several years. He covers everything about Tesla, from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.