Tesla Driver Gets Stuck in Carpinteria Salt Marsh

A white Tesla Model Y was found in the Carpinteria Salt Marsh early Monday morning. First reported at the Twitter profile of @JohnPalminteriNews, which had a busy 24 hours of Halloween events, injury accidents, and witches stand-up paddling in the Santa Barbara Harbor, ad-lib speculators wondered about a potential new venture by Elon Musk into self-driving submarines.

An engine crew with Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Protection District were the first dispatched to Sand Point Road, which is a private road along the ocean between Padaro Beach and Carpinteria. Firefighters found the vehicle stuck in four feet of water. A rescue swimmer waded in to check the vehicle and the surrounding area for any driver or passengers, but none were found.

The Sheriff’s Office found the registered owner of the vehicle later in the day. The driver “thought he would go driving on the beach,” Sheriff’s spokesperson Raquel Zick related, “and got stuck.” No charges were being brought, she said, and it was the owner’s responsibility to remove the car. No hazardous materials were found to have been spilled into the marsh, said Noah Tunney, a battalion chief with the Carp-Summerland fire department.

Few beaches in California allow motor vehicles, and Carpinteria’s Salt Marsh is not one of them.

Support the Santa Barbara Independent through a long-term or a single contribution.