Elon Musk’s Boring Company is underground and on track with a proposed LA tunnel system.
Last year I wrote an article about a crazy idea from everyone’s favorite modern inventor Elon Musk.
You see, Musk hates traffic with a fierceness. To that end, he’s proposed what some may see as a crazy idea. He calls it the Boring Company, and despite its name, the idea is rather exciting.
Here’s how it works. First, the Company builds tunnels throughout a city (hence the ‘boring’ part of the name). Then, a sophisticated system of rails and ‘car skates’ grabs incoming cars and transports them at high speeds throughout a city.
The idea would cut down on traffic and could save people time in getting across town. It’s basically a subway system for cars.
So far, the project has faced difficulty with city governments, but that hasn’t stopped Musk from going forward.
Which brings us to a new development for the Boring Company: Musk has released a plan for tunnels under LA.
The Boring Company’s new Development
The picture you see above is the proposed map of the LA tunnel system. The red segment is a “proof-of-concept” tunnel that they plan to use for testing. The blue is what could come in the future.
Their “proof-of-concept” is the important part. It’s intended to show Los Angeles that the idea of cars on skates is worth allowing. If it works, then we may see the Boring Company take off so to speak.
So far, the only tunnel that has been completed is about 150 meters long. Sadly, it seems like LA doesn’t seem to favor Musk’s idea.
So far, the company doesn’t have a permit to build in LA, but Musk is optimistic about their chances.
We can either give up hope & sit in traffic hell forever or try something new. The odds of success may be low, but they're better than zero.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 8, 2017
Will the tunnel come to LA? Maybe not, but Musk has more irons in the fire. He also has plans to build tunnels in Chicago, for example. Oh, and a tunnel between New York City and Washington, D.C!
In fact, a 12.4 tunnel is purportedly going to be bored starting next month in Maryland, according to Electrek.co.
10 hat aficionados, in appreciation for their exquisite taste in millinery, will be picked at random to tour the LA tunnel & drive boring machine
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 14, 2017
While we wait for one of these tunnels to be built, you can also buy a Boring Company hat. After all, if you look at Elon’s Twitter page lately, you’ll see he’s converted into a “Hat Salesman.”
To preserve the transcendent majesty & specialness of The Boring Company cap, we are capping cap orders at 50,000 caps. Almost there … https://t.co/YqjEQAfy3u
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 3, 2017
Of course, these tunnels could also be used for other purposes. I mean, it’s already an Elon Musk project, why not put a Hyperloop in there?
Bring on the Underground Hyperloop!
We’ve all heard of the Hyperloop. It’s a concept project of Musk’s that involves two massive tubes that send people about in pods that move around 700 mph.
See, Musk really, really hates traffic. Between the Boring Company and the Hyperloop, that’s pretty clear.
If a Hyperloop system can be put into the Boring Company’s tunnels, then you really have to wonder if that’s just a coincidence. I mean, yeah, it makes sense that someone like Musk would make all of his tech compatible. But, to me, it seems like he would have an easier time implementing the hyperloop if the Boring Company builds an infrastructure for it.
If that happens, who knows how long the idea of cars on skates will even last. Welcoming the Boring Company into your city could be a ticket to high-speed access to another city in the future.
That’s all speculation, though, and it’s based on whether or not city governments will allow such a project under their jurisdiction. For now, we’ll just have to keep our eyes on Chicago, NYC, D.C., and of course LA.
What do you think? Would you welcome The Boring Company into your city?
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