Elon Musk Reveals New High-Speed Vehicle and Tunnel Network Concept to Solve Congestion
Canadian-American entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, has revealed a futuristic transportation concept in a video released by The Boring Company, Musk’s startup for infrastructure and tunneling. The concept goes along with Musk’s aims for travel and communication enhancement. The new idea features an underground transport network for high-speed pod-like communal vehicles which can run with a speed of 125mph or 201 km/hr according to tests.
Image: Courtesy of The Boring Company
The self-driving vehicles are mostly made of glass and they are big enough to fit about a dozen people and their bicycles too. They are high enough for passengers to stand, but they are also provided with seating benches. The bottom of the vehicles will be fitted with ‘electric sleds’ which are “flat plate on wheels propelled by electric motors.” The use of these sleds will help reduce the diameter of the tunnels and thus reducing their costs. The sleds can also be attached to normal cars by driving into them, in order to be capable of accessing and using the tunnel network. This way the underground transport network will be serving both car owners and passengers, and so reducing congestion in the cities. Also, the use of the “electric” sleds will temporarily turn the fuel-consuming cars into zero-emission vehicles and hence reducing the overall carbon footprint.
