Elon Musk's first tunnel is finished. Here's what it's like to ride in it

[Lord Tammerlain]

Thanks.

Sounds far fetched and decades out but I try hard to keep my skepticism in check. I was thinking recently of our mobile phones, and if someone predicted when the first mobile phone call was made what we all view as ordinary today, that would have also been CRAAAZZZYYY!!! talk.

Best of luck to Musk. It's certainly true we need big and wild thinkers like him in the world, the more the better.

I expect it could be done in about 10 years. Under a controlled environment autonomous vehicles would be ideal. Vehicles already have wifi and with 5G could share sensor data from the front vehicle to the last in a long line. It would have to be restricted to compatible vehicles of course, no taking a 1969 Camaro with a 327 belching gas in the tunnel


Such ideas have been part of Sci fi for years. The main aspect of the plan that would have to be confirmed is the cost and safety of building the tunnels

 

[WillyPete]

Elon staying busy... (Video at link)

Elon Musk's first tunnel is finished. Here's what it's like to ride in it

Our Tesla Model X pulled into a small parking lot behind an old kitchen cabinet store and came to a stop on a metal lift. Moments later, Elon Musk's vision for how to beat traffic congestion began to take shape.

The lift slowly lowered our car into O'Leary Station, a circular hole Musk's Boring Company had dug in the parking lot in Hawthorne, California. A handful of company employees were gathered around the edge, watching our descent.​

Goodness knows CA is slopping over with transportation fund these days, and they can't spend it all on union kickbacks.

What sort of throughput are they claiming (cars/hour,) and what's the pricing to build these tunnels (which isn't possible everywhere.)

We can't manage to properly maintain our roads as they are today, and now we're going to build an underground version of the same thing?

It's neat, and I'm sure there's some potential there, but a solution it ain't. At best it's part of a solution.

 

[poweRob]

I can only imagine being in one of those tunnels when an earthquake hits (and there's a lot of quakes in LA, small and big).

 

[Tim the plumber]

What's the difference between this revolutionary technology and a subway, that has existed in major cities for a century or more?

And maybe I'm not thinking about this correctly, but it's a tunnel. How many cars per hour can travel in this tunnel, and how is that different or better than another lane on the interstate or.... a subway line? Every car running the route has to get to the tunnel entrance, wait in line to enter, then travel but only along the tunnel's path, then somehow very quickly exit this tunnel back onto the street, and it carries most often 1 person. I cannot see the advantage....

Extra communication rout with cars taken as cargo. The main traffic will be people, as cargo.

The price is extremely low compared to other subways and was built very quickly.

The potential is thus very large for multiple subway routes all over the place, well under the place.

 

[Hawkeye10]

"It felt like an amusement park ride" caught my eye......because in every way this feels like a toy rather than something that is useful.

 

[Pedestrian]

Goodness knows CA is slopping over with transportation fund these days, and they can't spend it all on union kickbacks.

What sort of throughput are they claiming (cars/hour,) and what's the pricing to build these tunnels (which isn't possible everywhere.)

We can't manage to properly maintain our roads as they are today, and now we're going to build an underground version of the same thing?

It's neat, and I'm sure there's some potential there, but a solution it ain't. At best it's part of a solution.

Well one has to budget for all of those capitalist kickbacks and they cost a whole lot more.

I will give Musk credit for putting up the money and actually trying to innovate.

It is these singular wealthy entrepreneurs and extremely little of corp. America who make these kinds of investments.

Out of the Fortune 1000, there are very few companies willing to spend this kind of money in R & D.

In fact, as a norm, these are very rare and 99% of capitalists are risk averse.

It is only after the risk has been taken and a market discovered that the capitalists jump on the bandwagon.

 

[WillyPete]

Well one has to budget for all of those capitalist kickbacks and they cost a whole lot more.

I will give Musk credit for putting up the money and actually trying to innovate.

It is these singular wealthy entrepreneurs and extremely little of corp. America who make these kinds of investments.

Out of the Fortune 1000, there are very few companies willing to spend this kind of money in R & D.

In fact, as a norm, these are very rare and 99% of capitalists are risk averse.

It is only after the risk has been taken and a market discovered that the capitalists jump on the bandwagon.

My understanding is that the big boys generally arrange for the government to underwrite their R&D, and then take over when it proves out.

I don't have a problem with Musk or his idea necessarily, and I believe his intentions are (more or less) pure, but it doesn't strike me as practical to build extensive tunnels in a place where basements are less common than earthquakes.

We don't maintain regular roads, despite our massive tax burden. Why should anyone believe they'll be able to manage these tunnels?

It won't however, prevent the state of California from dumping a ton of money into it, as they never saw a boondoggle they didn't fall in love with.

And if I understanding you as contrasting unions with capitalists, there is no more capitalist venture than California unions. Maybe other places are different.

 

[Hawkeye10]

My understanding is that the big boys generally arrange for the government to underwrite their R&D, and then take over when it proves out.

I don't have a problem with Musk or his idea necessarily, and I believe his intentions are (more or less) pure, but it doesn't strike me as practical to build extensive tunnels in a place where basements are less common than earthquakes.

We don't maintain regular roads, despite our massive tax burden. Why should anyone believe they'll be able to manage these tunnels?

It won't however, prevent the state of California from dumping a ton of money into it, as they never saw a boondoggle they didn't fall in love with.

And if I understanding you as contrasting unions with capitalists, there is no more capitalist venture than California unions. Maybe other places are different.

Have you heard anything on how the "We'll paint the roads white to save the planet" scheme is going?

 

[Captain America]

Elon Musk is a pure genious innovator.

He will go down in history and be remembered long after his critics are dead, gone and forgotten about.

Tesla was called crazy more than once, too. Yet, here we are doing just about everything we do using Alternating Current.

If you're in to the stock market for the long haul, buy Tesla stock now and weather out the bumps for the next 10-15 years. Eventually, you will a own part of a gold mine.

Elon Musk sees the future. Those who don't realize that probably still wipe their ass with dried corn cobs. (They probably voted for Trump too. LOL!)

 

[WillyPete]

Have you heard anything on how the "We'll paint the roads white to save the planet" scheme is going?

Haven't heard of that one, but it figures. Nowadays it seems to be all paper straws, removing traffic lanes from city streets, and cyborg cows with fart capturing butt bags.

And of course soaking the citizens for things they've already paid for, because the unions want MORE.

 

[Hawkeye10]

Haven't heard of that one, but it figures. Nowadays it seems to be all paper straws, removing traffic lanes from city streets, and cyborg cows with fart capturing butt bags.

And of course soaking the citizens for things they've already paid for, because the unions want MORE.

Seattle is removing lanes for cars downtown at a fast clip so that they can get what they call "Congestion Pricing" where they plan to charge about $18 per car per day to enter the city.....but to get it they need to make the citizens desperate first. The goal of course is to get people out of their cars and onto transit, and since we are in the ends justify the means times this abuse of the citizens to get what they want is fine.

 

[JasperL]

Well one has to budget for all of those capitalist kickbacks and they cost a whole lot more.

I will give Musk credit for putting up the money and actually trying to innovate.

It is these singular wealthy entrepreneurs and extremely little of corp. America who make these kinds of investments.

Out of the Fortune 1000, there are very few companies willing to spend this kind of money in R & D.

In fact, as a norm, these are very rare and 99% of capitalists are risk averse.

It is only after the risk has been taken and a market discovered that the capitalists jump on the bandwagon.

I read a pretty interesting book on that subject, and it linked the consolidation of entire industries into a handful of behemoths as a possible reason for the decline in innovation and productivity. The argument is size makes it easy to profit with relatively low risk rent seeking versus innovation, and that all the real innovation comes from upstarts. Also that creative, entrepreneurial types don't flourish in big entities where as you say management is risk averse.

Not sure I buy the argument entirely but it was though provoking. The counter argument is the inventive types still exist, and are bought out by the big boys but that the incentives still exist for a big payoff for new approaches. It seems certainly true that the big boys engage in a lot of profitable rent seeking behavior...

 

[DiAnna]

Why's that? He's got not just this tunnel in LA but also building similar projects in Chicago and DC right now according to the article.

I was raised in Hawthorne; 10 million dollars to go a mile at 35 mph? Hell, I walked three times that far to get to high school. Nobody who ever lived in the L.A. area could possibly believe this could be feasible in their lifetime, or even in their grandchildren's lifetime.

And can we talk about earthquakes? I've lived through many in SoCal, including in Hawthorne when as a child the bed I was sleeping in was thrown ten feet across a carpeted room in a quake that was less than 6.0! Plus, the only cars that can even travel this tunnel must have special tires that fit the rails... in other words, Musk cars only.

Yeah, L.A. traffic is a total bitch; I spent nearly 40 years of my life dealing with it. But high-speed mass transit underground, in a tunnel that costs 10 million dollars per mile and can only be used by Musk-built cars is a complete non-starter. The average commute time in the L.A. area is probably longer than anywhere outside of D.C. ... I spent an hour or more going 30 miles each way a few decades ago... but spending billions of dollars in tunnels in an earthquake zone is seriously not the answer.

For me, it's a :doh

 

[DiAnna]

Elon Musk is a pure genious innovator.

He will go down in history and be remembered long after his critics are dead, gone and forgotten about.

Tesla was called crazy more than once, too. Yet, here we are doing just about everything we do using Alternating Current.

If you're in to the stock market for the long haul, buy Tesla stock now and weather out the bumps for the next 10-15 years. Eventually, you will a own part of a gold mine.

Elon Musk sees the future. Those who don't realize that probably still wipe their ass with dried corn cobs. (They probably voted for Trump too. LOL!)

You could be right, but at the moment all I see is /facepalm crazy.

 

[poweRob]

I was raised in Hawthorne; 10 million dollars to go a mile at 35 mph? Hell, I walked three times that far to get to high school. Nobody who ever lived in the L.A. area could possibly believe this could be feasible in their lifetime, or even in their grandchildren's lifetime.

And can we talk about earthquakes? I've lived through many in SoCal, including in Hawthorne when as a child the bed I was sleeping in was thrown ten feet across a carpeted room in a quake that was less than 6.0! Plus, the only cars that can even travel this tunnel must have special tires that fit the rails... in other words, Musk cars only.

Yeah, L.A. traffic is a total bitch; I spent nearly 40 years of my life dealing with it. But high-speed mass transit underground, in a tunnel that costs 10 million dollars per mile and can only be used by Musk-built cars is a complete non-starter. The average commute time in the L.A. area is probably longer than anywhere outside of D.C. ... I spent an hour or more going 30 miles each way a few decades ago... but spending billions of dollars in tunnels in an earthquake zone is seriously not the answer.

For me, it's a :doh

It's not the end result. I think the plan is to get the tunnels up and over 100mph.

 

[Jetboogieman]

Yes, in the woods in Canada where you live it would be crazy, in cities crippled by traffic like LA it would be fantastic and would revolutionize city living.

He just proved it's technologically and financially possible. If you still doubt his ability to change the way we do things, you're the bat **** crazy one. If you have real critiques let's hear it.

First off mate, sorry for the tardiness, didn't have access to a computer and I couldn't do this justice on just a phone, so that's number 1.

Number 2, easy fella, come on, you and me don't disagree on a whole lot, so take it easy.

But here's where I want you to analyze your own biases, you seem to be a bit of a Musk fan boy and I can see the appeal, he kind of presents himself as a cooler, edgier, Tony Stark figure without the Iron Man Suit, but to me, he's another Trump, just on a different part of the spectrum, when he does things like this:

Perhaps he's just as thin skinned as the Idiot in Chief is.

The media loves to puff him up on things like this and the Hyperloop... But the Media and especially the American media can be extremely science illiterate...

Look, I can write it all out, but I thoroughly encourage you, if you have some time on your hands, watch this guy, he scientifcally busts all sorts of nonsense from the Hyperloop, to self filling water bottles, solar roadways, climate changer deniers (admittedly there's some social commentary stuff on the channel thats worth ignoring, but the science videos seem absolutely solid).





I tried to like Musk, I really did... But despite his successes in some areas, perhaps he gets too much credit for those man, because him pumping money and resources into these useless ideas and his behavior over the course of the past year tells me he's not some kind of ubermensch.

 

[Jetboogieman]

Demolishes Elon musks Snake oil salesman nonsense.

 

[poweRob]

Demolishes Elon musks Snake oil salesman nonsense.

Seems like you are holding him responsible for other peoples' postings and editorializing on his work. Not to mention Hyperloop One isn't a Musk adventure. He simply drafted up a simple cursory idea about it and I think it is Richard Branson that is actually running with it.

 

[Jetboogieman]

Seems like you are holding him responsible for other peoples' postings and editorializing on his work. Not to mention Hyperloop One isn't a Musk adventure. He simply drafted up a simple cursory idea about it and I think it is Richard Branson that is actually running with it.

Mate, if you can refute was Thunderfoot is saying, please go ahead, but you can't watch that video and tell me that Musk is not blowing smoke.

His idea, is utterly ludicrous nonsense.

Musk is closer to Trump than you think and this utter tripe he's attempting to pass off as innovation proves it.

 

[poweRob]

Mate, if you can refute was Thunderfoot is saying, please go ahead, but you can't watch that video and tell me that Musk is not blowing smoke.

His idea, is utterly ludicrous nonsense.

Musk is closer to Trump than you think and this utter tripe he's attempting to pass off as innovation proves it.

Musk isn't a part of hyperloop. So what are you talking about?

 

[Jetboogieman]

Musk isn't a part of hyperloop. So what are you talking about?

You didn't watch the video did you...

The Hyperloop aside, this car, tunnel, highway craptastic idea is what the video is actually talking about.