Elon Musk is one of them best-known and most successful founders our time. He has taken many a risk with PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX – and has always been successful in the end. Now the American takes one new problem: traffic in big cities.
Tunnels should help
A few years ago, Musk announced his idea of solving traffic chaos in metropolitan areas. While some already fantasize about flying cars, Musk thinks the other way. It should go down. Underground tunnel systems are supposed to empty the streets of Los Angeles. Sounds like a surprisingly simple solution. But it won't be that easy. Musk's newly founded company "The Boring Company" presented a concept video a few days ago which illustrates the process. Elevators are to be installed at the side of the road to drive the vehicles into the tunnel systems. On a kind of acceleration track, the cars are then transported on fully automatic air-cushion-like platforms included in the traffic. The system should be powered, typical for Musk. This is ensured by a middle rail, similar to that of a train. The automation of traffic should make speeds of up to 200 km/h possible, and movement, especially in large cities like New York, should be absurdly accelerated.
That will be expensive
Great idea, let's do it, right? Nothing, just very very expensive. In a new TED interview, Musk gave interested viewers the math on how much a mile of normal tunnel would cost. It's in the $500 million range. With several hundred miles of tunnel system per major city, everyone can calculate for themselves how much that should cost. Musk wouldn't be where he is today if he hadn't done some math beforehand. With minor adjustments, the astronomically high sum could quickly be reduced by a factor of six. For example, the tunnel diameter could be reduced and the tunnel boring machines could be used more efficiently. In order to implement his project, Musk also needs the approval of the cities. Thanks to extensive subway networks, this will certainly not be an easy task. In addition, the billionaire admitted to putting only 2% of his time into the implementation of the project. After all, he has enough to do with the forthcoming start of production of the new, mass-market Model 3. Here you can watch the concept video of the Boring Company:
