Mexican Media Brands
Musk’s Tunnel Venture Switches Priority from Cars to People
Founder Elon Musk says the initial focus of his Boring Co.’s underground shuttle service will be on moving pedestrians and cyclists, not cars, around cities.
Share
Founder Elon Musk says the initial focus of his Boring Co.’s underground shuttle service will be on moving pedestrians and cyclists, not cars, around cities.
Boring still plans to launch a high-speed car carrier, which the company previously has promoted. But this will only happen after “all personalized mass transit needs are met," Musk asserted in a series of recent tweets. Out of "courtesy and fairness,” he says, people who can’t afford a vehicle “should go first.”
Musk envisions a network of thousands of above-ground stations, each about the size of a parking spot, where passengers would board shuttle pods. The pods would then be lowered under the ground and merge into tunnel loop routes where they could travel at speeds as great as 150 mph. Boring has released a new animated video that demonstrates the concept.
Musk was criticized when he first announced the car carrier plan last year for not addressing congestion. Skeptics also argue that bus rapid transit systems and above-ground micro-transit shuttles would be more practical.
Although he hasn’t announced any launch goals, Musk is moving forward with Boring’s ambitious plan. The company currently is testing prototype tunnels near Musk’s SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. And last month Boring received approval to start initial work on a proposed tunnel in Washington, D.C.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Mustang Changes for 2018
On Tuesday Ford unveiled—using the social media channels of actor Dwayne Johnson (this has got to unnerve some of the auto buff book editors)—the 2018 Mustang, which has undergone some modifications: under the hood (the 3.7-liter V6 is giving way to a 2.3-liter EcoBoost four, and a 10-speed automatic is available), on the dash (a 12-inch, all-digital LCD screen is available for the dashboard), at the tires (12 wheel choices), on the chassis (MagneRide damper technology is being offered with the Mustang Performance Package), and on the exterior (three new paint colors). And while on the subject of the exterior, there are some notable changes—a lower, remodeled hood, repositioned hood vents, new upper and lower front grilles, LED front lights, revised LED taillamps, new rear bumper and fascia.
-
Choosing the Right Fasteners for Automotive
PennEngineering makes hundreds of different fasteners for the automotive industry with standard and custom products as well as automated assembly solutions. Discover how they’re used and how to select the right one. (Sponsored Content)
-
On Fuel Cells, Battery Enclosures, and Lucid Air
A skateboard for fuel cells, building a better battery enclosure, what ADAS does, a big engine for boats, the curious case of lean production, what drivers think, and why Lucid is remarkable
