Musk: Public Transport Must Be Reinvented

Tesla Motors Inc. is evaluating a new autonomous vehicle platform that CEO Elon Musk hints could be an alternative to traditional public transportation.

Speaking at a transport conference in Norway this week, Musk says Tesla has “an idea for something that is not exactly a bus, but would solve the density problem for inner city situations.” Autonomous vehicles will be a “key” to the program, he added, noting that the feedback Tesla has received from its Autopilot driver-assist feature has been very positive since its debut last autumn.

“I think we actually need to rethink the whole concept of public transport and create something that people are actually going to like a lot more,” Musk says. This could be accomplished, he suggests, with a “new type of car or vehicle” that would take people to their final destination rather than simply between bus stops.

Musk didn’t provide any specifics about the new program, but he says it isn’t part of the “Hyperloop” concept that he proposed in 2013. Hyperloop Technologies, a Los Angeles-based startup, aims to transport people at high speed between cities via pods inside vacuum tubes. The company plans to begin testing the concept on an open-air track in Nevada later this year.

Media reports suggest the new system Musk alluded to could team an autonomous vehicle with a ride-hailing service. Google, Uber, several carmakers and other companies are exploring similar approaches.