LAKE ALPINE, Calif. — A trip to cut down a Christmas tree in Alpine County's Stanislaus National Forest took a literal downhill turn for a group of family and friends when they found themselves helping to free a stuck Tesla Cybertruck.
In an interview with ABC News, Justin Covington said that a Tesla Cybertruck slid down a hill while attempting to make room for a Ford pickup truck in Covington's group on Dec. 10.
According to Covington, the driver of the cybertruck told him that the prototype vehicle had been experiencing issues with its four-wheel drive.
Video, which has since gone viral on social media, shows the Ford pulling the Cybertruck with a Christmas tree strapped to its roof.
“We are avid off-roaders and take our Jeeps out trail riding all the time and you can’t leave someone behind in a time of need," Covington told ABC News. "So we did what anyone would have done and helped."
The U.S. Forest Service reacted to the now viral moment with a clever post on social media.
“We are always thrilled when new opportunities to explore our public lands become available,” said Stanislaus National Forest Supervisor Jason Kuiken in a Facebook post Friday. “But feel there may be work to be done in educating users about our Motor Vehicle Use Maps.”
The cybertruck rescue happened along a well-known Off-Highway Vehicle area in the Forest’s Calaveras Ranger District.
Newsweek reported that the video was seen more than 5 million times across different platforms.
The Forest Service is now proposing a team-up for an education campaign regarding off-road vehicle use on public lands.
“We feel confident that had the driver of the Cybertruck had a better understanding of the topographical feature indicated on our maps, practiced Leave No Trace principles and generally been more prepared, this whole incident could have been not only avoided but also provided much-needed education to many new off-road users,” said Kuiken.
