I got soaked driving the Arc Sport electric boat

I didn’t go CES 2025 with the goal of submerging herself in the cold January waters of Lake Mead. But when I discovered that Los Angeles-based Arc was bringing their new sports boat to Las Vegas, I figured it was worth the risk. It was.

The Arc Sport was a joy to drive, even during a 30-minute jaunt across a rolling lake. It maneuvered like a heavy jet ski – a weight that helped it feel stable. I’ve driven a lot of heavy electric cars, trucks and SUVs where I used weight as resistance. In this case, I was happy to have some weight under us.

Like its ships, Arc moved quickly as a startup. Bowfounded by former SpaceX engineers, came out of stealth in 2021 with backing from Andreessen Horowitz and Chris Sacca’s Lowercarbon Capital. It raised a $30 million Series A a few months later, led by Eclipse Ventures partner and former Tesla CEO Greg Reichow. The startup delivered its first $300,000 Arc One boats in early 2023, raised another 70 million dollars in the same yearand started work on the $258,000 Arc Sport.

In accordance with this pace, Arc delivered its first Sports Boat to the customer at the end of last year. It’s a “really fast development time,” founder and CEO Mitch Lee told TechCrunch as we raced around Lake Mead. And that was only possible because Arc took the time to learn how to build a limited-edition One ship before moving on to something more appealing, according to Lee.

“Arc One was that for us [Tesla] Roadster. The first step was, let’s manufacture this ship. Let’s do it on a small scale and learn from what it’s like to have these ships in the field with customers,” he told TechCrunch in an interview in November. “Now our ships were going through hurricanes. We had boat launches in 95 degree water. Those teachings are incredibly valuable.”

When I arrived, Lee was shivering in the winter breeze off Lake Mead, but clearly still happy to show off the Arc Sport and what it can do. We got on the boat and hit the water.

It’s an impressive boat even before you hit the gas. The fit and finish on the boat I piloted, which was technically still a production vehicle, was stunning, especially since CES isn’t known as a place for polished prototypes.

However, there are elements that might make people wonder. There was a Tesla-esque horizontal touchscreen with smart, fluid software that didn’t scream “legacy manufacturer.” A second screen was located behind the steering wheel, showing speed, battery level and the view from the forward-facing camera.

The Sport is much quieter than a typical gas boat. It’s not quiet. I could still hear the engine running under our feet; but it was easy to hear Lee, his two associates and another reporter on board. It was no louder than the wind and the sound of the furrow being thrown behind us — a distinguishing feature of Arc boats compared to many other hydrofoil-based powerboats.

When you combine that with the other quality-of-life improvements the Sport offers over some other gas competitors—such as flue-free, robust software that updates over the air, dual thrusters that make turning and parking the boat easy, a solid canopy that drops for protection from inclement weather and the lack of necessary preparation for winter – it is logical why water sports enthusiasts might pay a premium for this boat.

Boats are not necessarily difficult to drive. The real learning curve comes from knowing how to navigate and behave on the water. Driving the Sport on empty Lake Mead, even in choppy waters, was no challenge. Put your hand on the wheel, lift the lock on the throttle and push it forward to have fun with 500 horsepower.

A 226kWh battery pack held the boat in place and also helped the relatively short 23-foot frame turn quickly as I turned the wheel. These turns were the most strenuous part of the experience with the wind and cut. Sure enough, we got hit by a wave that splashed us with the icy blue water that the Colorado River supplies to Lake Mead.

It was worth it though. Everyone should be able to have this much fun.

On the way back to the dock, as he toweled himself off, it was hard not to notice Lake Mead’s exhaustion. A powerful combination of seemingly endless drought and human activity has reduced the reservoir to just 27% of its total capacity, according to OUR. In all directions I could see where the water line used to be, a colloquially known phenomenon directed like a “bathtub ring”.

This has had a direct impact on boaters who use the lake for recreation – exactly the kind Lee hopes to sell. Lake Mead has had to close multiple docks and ramps over the past few years, according to the National Park Serviceand expand the remaining ones to reach the newer, lower level of the lake.

I didn’t ask him if freshwater lake evaporation was an addressable risk to Arc’s market – that’s a bleak idea I’ll be sure to bring up next time. What I do know is that Lee said his goal is to switch every scooter to electric. That includes looking beyond sports, perhaps even to government and defense—an idea that’s very appealing these days to seed investor Andreessen Horowitz.

When I asked Lee about it in November, he backed off but left the door open.

“We can’t afford to be distracted too soon, because if we do, we will fail as a company,” he said. “The reason we were able to develop the Arc Sport so quickly is because of the work we did on the Arc One. I could go down this long list of all transmissions and IPs, but the same thing goes for going into the commercial, government sectors, and our aspirations as a company definitely carry over to that. We’re just not ready to talk about anything yet.”