Tesla owner and billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk unveiled an underground transportation tunnel suing which it would be possible for people to travel much faster than they would via subways.
At the same time, the entrepreneur also unveiled the concept of the autonomous cars which would be used for ferrying people across the test tunnel. The tunnel runs at a depth of about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) below the streets of Hawthorne, California, the city where Musk’s space exploration company SpaceX is headquartered. The entrepreneur also revealed plans for elevators which according to him will help bring down the cars of the tunnel users down from the street level to the underground level of the tunnel.
It was almost two years ago that the news of the construction of the tunnel was made by Musk on Twitter where he said that the "traffic is driving me nuts" and he was "going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging."
"I am actually going to do this," he had said while replying to the sceptics of the project.
And with this, Musk created a company called The Boring Co., with the name bearing a literal meaning to the intention of the company being created. Musk has made public a few photos and videos of the progress of work on the tunnel since the announcement.
Many view the tunnel to be a "proof of concept" and it is expected to be used by Musk and The Boring Co. for undertaking further research and development to create a broader system for transportation to resolve the traffic woes in Los Angeles and in other places.
One such concept is known as the Dugout Loop which is meant to ferry Los Angeles baseball fans from one of three subway stations to Dodger Stadium. A second such concept tunnel would carry travellers from downtown Chicago to O'Hare International Airport. Both projects are undergoing environmental review.
A delegation to the first tunnel by Musk was sent by the city of Chicago.
Following the filing of a lawsuit by a neighbourhood coalition of the Los Angeles' west side showing concerns about traffic and disruptions from trucks which would be digging out dirt during the boring process, the Boring Co. cancelled plans for doing another test tunnel in that area.
According to the concept described by Musk, the tunnels would have a system of carrying down vehicles down to the tunnel via elevators into tunnels and then move them on to electrically powered platforms called skates. The concept entails fitting up to 16 pedestrians and bicyclists on the autonomous vehicles which would also be travelling on the skates with top speeds of 150 miles per hour.
"Once fully operational (demo system rides will be free), the system will always give priority to pods for pedestrians & cyclists for less than the cost of a bus ticket," Musk tweeted in May.
(Source:www.chicagotribune.com)
At the same time, the entrepreneur also unveiled the concept of the autonomous cars which would be used for ferrying people across the test tunnel. The tunnel runs at a depth of about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) below the streets of Hawthorne, California, the city where Musk’s space exploration company SpaceX is headquartered. The entrepreneur also revealed plans for elevators which according to him will help bring down the cars of the tunnel users down from the street level to the underground level of the tunnel.
It was almost two years ago that the news of the construction of the tunnel was made by Musk on Twitter where he said that the "traffic is driving me nuts" and he was "going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging."
"I am actually going to do this," he had said while replying to the sceptics of the project.
And with this, Musk created a company called The Boring Co., with the name bearing a literal meaning to the intention of the company being created. Musk has made public a few photos and videos of the progress of work on the tunnel since the announcement.
Many view the tunnel to be a "proof of concept" and it is expected to be used by Musk and The Boring Co. for undertaking further research and development to create a broader system for transportation to resolve the traffic woes in Los Angeles and in other places.
One such concept is known as the Dugout Loop which is meant to ferry Los Angeles baseball fans from one of three subway stations to Dodger Stadium. A second such concept tunnel would carry travellers from downtown Chicago to O'Hare International Airport. Both projects are undergoing environmental review.
A delegation to the first tunnel by Musk was sent by the city of Chicago.
Following the filing of a lawsuit by a neighbourhood coalition of the Los Angeles' west side showing concerns about traffic and disruptions from trucks which would be digging out dirt during the boring process, the Boring Co. cancelled plans for doing another test tunnel in that area.
According to the concept described by Musk, the tunnels would have a system of carrying down vehicles down to the tunnel via elevators into tunnels and then move them on to electrically powered platforms called skates. The concept entails fitting up to 16 pedestrians and bicyclists on the autonomous vehicles which would also be travelling on the skates with top speeds of 150 miles per hour.
"Once fully operational (demo system rides will be free), the system will always give priority to pods for pedestrians & cyclists for less than the cost of a bus ticket," Musk tweeted in May.
(Source:www.chicagotribune.com)
