Urban Transport

Elon Musk to take his tunneling ambitions to China

Elon Musk to take his tunneling ambitions to China
Opening to a test tunnel at The Boring Company headquarters in California
Opening to a test tunnel at The Boring Company headquarters in California
View 2 Images
A look inside an earlier test tunnel built by The Boring Company
1/2
A look inside an earlier test tunnel built by The Boring Company
Opening to a test tunnel at The Boring Company headquarters in California
2/2
Opening to a test tunnel at The Boring Company headquarters in California

There's a lot of work to do before The Boring Company gets its high-speed transport tunnels up and running on home soil, but its operations already appear set to expand across the Pacific. CEO Elon Musk revealed over the weekend that a new arm of the tunneling venture is in the works for China, a place where his electric car company also happens to be making some inroads.

Back in May, around two and a half years after Musk first floated the idea of using tunnels to tackle city traffic, the Las Vegas tourism authority signed off on a deal whereby The Boring Company would build a transport loop for the renovated Las Vegas Convention Center.

Due for completion sometime later in the year, the system will consist of three tunnels that transport people between stations in modified Teslas and other electric vehicles. The plan is for these people-movers, at some point, to begin operating autonomously with a capacity to transport at least 4,400 passengers per hour.

A look inside an earlier test tunnel built by The Boring Company
A look inside an earlier test tunnel built by The Boring Company

Responding to a tweet announcing his visit to China for the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on August 29 to 31, Musk mentioned that he "will also be launching The Boring Company China on this trip." In response to another Twitter user asking whether the company would build tunnels underwater, Musk simply said "Yes."

What his plans are for tunnels and traffic in the world's most populous nation is anyone's guess at this point, but it is worth noting that Musk has big plans for Tesla in China. The company continues to work towards completion of its Shanghai Gigafactory, where it plans to start producing cars for the local market, including the Model 3 mass market sedan by year's end.

Source: Twitter (Elon Musk)

No comments
0 comments
There are no comments. Be the first!