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Beached as: Bogged Tesla Model X driver mocked mercilessly on social media

A Tesla Model X driver who got bogged axle deep in sand in Queensland has been slayed on social media for mistaking his SUV for a four-wheel-drive.


Tesla drivers have again been reminded that, although they may consider their electric vehicles to be a step above the competition, they are not above the laws of physics.

Photos of a Tesla Model X bogged axle deep in sand on a Queensland beach last weekend have spread like wildfire on social media, starting with the Facebook page I got bogged at Bribie Island.

While hardcore four-wheel-drive owners were quick to weigh-in on the dilemma, the stranded driver even copped a spray from fellow Tesla owners.

"Why the hell does this keep happening?" wrote one commenter on a Tesla forum on Facebook, expressing a sense of embarrassment about the incident.

"Oh geez, he doesn't deserve (a Tesla Model) X. I'll take it!" wrote another.

Some Tesla forum commenters were even more brutal than this in their assessment of the stranded Tesla Model X.

"Lacking a few electrons in the cerebral area," wrote one commenter, followed by others such as "Clown, it's not a 4WD" and "Can't help stupid."

Another Facebook commenter uploaded a meme: "So that level of stupid does exist."

"I have no intention of driving my Tesla on an unsurfaced road and do not understand why anyone would drive a Tesla on sand," added another.

However, a more level-headed voice on the Tesla forum shared a more detailed explanation.

"Seems to be something we should talk about. Given so many know so little about their vehicle. (All-wheel-drive) does not equal (four-wheel-drive). Driving on soft sand requires lowered tyre pressures, and the ability to inflate them again after.

"As a regular to Fraser, Bribe and Stradbroke islands, we have a vehicle for that purpose and have had to rescue my
share of (all-wheel-drive vehicles) before.

"Team Tesla. Stay away from the beach. Some will say it's fine. But it just doesn't respect others, you aren't carrying
recovery gear, you aren't carrying inflation/deflation gear, you will get into trouble.

"And generally you will block (the path of) others who have done the right thing."

The detailed response also noted the Tesla Model X is a "great road car, not an off-road vehicle."

"There have been several Teslas bogged across the Easter weekend. And yes other (petrol-powered all-wheel-drive vehicles got stuck too). "But this is a Tesla forum and we simply don't belong (on soft sand).

"I'll congratulate those 'who do it all the time' now. (But) can and should are very different concepts."

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Joshua Dowling

Joshua Dowling has been a motoring journalist for more than 20 years, spending most of that time working for The Sydney Morning Herald (as motoring editor and one of the early members of the Drive team) and News Corp Australia. He joined CarAdvice / Drive in 2018, and has been a World Car of the Year judge for more than 10 years.

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