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Las Vegas taps Elon Musk's Boring Company for transport project
Your next visit to Las Vegas might include a peek at the possible future of transportation. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has recommended choosing Elon Musk's The Boring Company to develop an underground tunnel loop that would use autonomous electric vehicles to shuttle people around the city's Convention Center (aka the LVCC). A proposed expansion (below) would include a much larger loop that would cover much of the Strip, McCarran International Airport and Las Vegas Stadium.
Elon Musk's LA tunnel turns Teslas into a 'rail-guided train'
Tonight The Boring Company hosted a launch event for the test tunnel it successfully built in LA running from SpaceX's property to "O'Leary Station" at a reported cost of about $10 million. In tweets, he showed off a Model X equipped with gear that guides the car between elevators at each end of the tunnel, where it then simply drives right back onto the road. The rig itself is really just a set of wheels, and TechCrunch reports that Musk said during a media briefing that they will be available as an aftermarket add-on for $200 to $300.
Boring Company's LA tunnel event set for December 18th
The bad news first: Elon Musk's Boring Company won't make its projected December 10th launch date for the LA Test Tunnel. The good news, however, is that Musk locked down a "product launch" to take place on December 18th complete with "modded but fully road legal autonomous transport cars & ground to tunnel car elevators." On Twitter, the company's official account said it needed more time to work on the snail habitat, referencing Elon's pet that outpaces the company's fastest digging machines. The event will occur just over a month after the company's digging machine broke through at O'Leary Station, and as Musk describes it, will be much more than just a tunnel opening. The whole idea is to show off lifts capable of operating in very small footprints, as well as the vehicles that will zoom through these tunnels at up to 150 MPH.
Elon Musk’s Boring Company abandons plan for LA Westside test tunnel
Elon Musk's Boring Company is ditching plans to build a 2.5-mile test tunnel underneath Los Angeles' 405 freeway and Sepulveda Boulevard. The controversial project had been the focus of a lawsuit filed by two neighborhood groups, accusing LA officials of violating state law by exempting the plans from environmental review. A settlement was reached last month and, on Tuesday, the Boring Company and the Westside activists made the closure official.
Boring Company breaks through to the end of its first test tunnel
We're about a month away from the planned opening of The Boring Company's Test Tunnel in LA, and it appears progress is moving along. Elon Musk tweeted this brief video of a digging machine breaking through, and although he wasn't specific about the location, it looks like they've reached O'Leary Station where the first test tunnel will end. The 'Godot' machine dug its first segment on SpaceX property in June, and things have been moving along busily ever since. We'll probably see people lining up for test rides after Black Friday. As the Boring Company explains, the point of this tunnel isn't just to dig it, but also to show off the small elevators that are key to its "loop" concept and are small enough to fit inside a house. Update: Just after this post was published, Musk tweeted again congratulating his company on completing the LA/Hawthorne tunnel.
The Boring Company's LA test tunnel is almost complete
Today, Elon Musk announced via Twitter that the first Boring Company test tunnel under Los Angeles is almost finished. When it's complete, the system will be able to carry pedestrians, cyclists and private vehicles at speeds of 155 mph. People will be able to try the loop out for free at a special event at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, CA, on December 10th.
Boring Company will build a futuristic tunnel garage
The Boring Company has some fairly grand plans when it comes to its tunnelling ambitions. It's proposed a 3.6 mile tunnel from an LA Metro station to Dodger Stadium, and it's recently been selected to build a high-speed transport link in Chicago. Now, it's set its sights on residential applications, and has purchased a property near SpaceX headquarters where it plans to build a private, prototype garage.
Boring Company steers its latest machine with an Xbox controller
It might not be all that exciting to dig tunnels, but The Boring Company may have a way of livening things up a bit: give the operators a gamepad. The Elon Musk-owned outfit has posted a video showing a test that used an Xbox One controller to steer the company's latest boring machine. It's not as riveting as using Xbox 360 controllers to steer submarine periscopes, but this is certainly one of the largest pieces of gamepad-guided machinery.
After Math: What could go wrong?
It's been a week of risk in the tech world, and I don't just mean Elon Musk's recent Twitter-on-acid experiment. Best Buy is wagering $800 million on a company that teaches your grandparents how gadgets work, Saint Louis University is peppering its dorms with Echos for some reason, and Reebok is hoping folks won't be too tempted to eat their vegetable-based sneakers.
The Boring Company will build a rapid transit system to Dodger Stadium
LA's baseball fans and concertgoers might be among the first to ride The Boring Company's high-speed pods. Elon Musk's company has announced that it's planning to dig a tunnel that leads to Dodger Stadium for a high-speed electric transportation network called the Dugout Loop. The Boring Company is still in the midst of deciding where to build the system's departure point and considering three neighborhoods in particular: Los Feliz, East Hollywood and Rampart Village.
Elon Musk's Thailand cave rescue would use a 'kid-size' submarine
Elon Musk is quickly solidifying his offer to help rescue a boys' soccer team trapped in a Thailand cave, and in just the way you would expect from a technology entrepreneur. He has revealed that the "primary path" for his attempt will involve a "kid-size submarine" that uses the liquid oxygen transfer tube of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as its hull. He added that it be "extremely robust" and would support many as four air tanks, with four handles that could be used as hitching points for ropes and cables.
Watch a Tesla Model X zoom inside a Boring Company tunnel
Someday, The Boring Company's tunnels could become a busy network of passenger-carrying shuttles, private vehicles and bicycles trying to dodge traffic. But right now, its existing tunnel under LA is pretty ahem boring -- save for a short moment last week when the company tested its vehicle transportation platform using a Tesla, that is. Sure, the event wasn't nearly as exciting as the time SpaceX sent Elon Musk's cherry-colored Roadster to space, but it still shows how a platform running on the tunnel's tracks would ferry private vehicles from one point to another.
Elon Musk's Boring Company will build a high-speed link in Chicago
Elon Musk's tunneling and transportation startup, The Boring Company, has been selected to construct a high-speed link in Chicago. The route, called The Chicago Express Loop, will run between Terminals 1-3 of Chicago's O'Hare airport, and Block 37 in downtown Chicago. At least, that's the plan.
The Boring Company's 'Not a Flamethrower' reaches customers
Elon Musk hasn't had the easiest time fulfilling his companies' promises lately, but there's at least one product arriving (more or less) on time. Musk has confirmed that the Boring Company has supplied the first 1,000 out of 20,000 flamethrowers. You had to visit the company to pick it up, but it shows that the device isn't just a figment of your imagination.
Elon Musk to offer free rides in his LA traffic-dodging tunnel
Elon Musk has posted a video of Boring Company's first nearly completed tunnel under Los Angeles, which heads towards LAX and has an extra entrance at the SpaceX Hawthorne HQ. The multi-company chief said the tunnel is almost done, pending regulatory approvals that will allow the Boring team to offer free rides to the public as soon as a few months from now. While people will eventually have to pay to ride Boring's electric pods, he said it will cost commuters even less than a bus ticket. If true, then the company's shuttles and tunnels could easily become the transportation method of choice.
After Math: The state of the 'uniom'
It was a week of taking stock as the President meandered his way through the State of the Union address and a number of tech firms reviewed their Q4 earnings. Alphabet and Amazon both had something to crow about, while Apple and GoPro both posted less than stellar holiday sales. Numbers, because how else would we realized that, at this point, the rules are made up and the points don't matter?
Elon Musk sells all 20,000 $500 Boring Company flamethrowers
Just a few days after opening pre-orders for $500 Boring Company-branded flamethrowers, Elon Musk has announced that all 20,000 have been sold. That's $10 million in sales for a product that will ship in spring (hopefully) on a website that admits it's overpriced and said: "You can definitely buy one for less elsewhere." At least, according to Musk, each order will come with a complimentary fire extinguisher, and, of course, will help fund his tunnel-digging exploits. If you missed out and absolutely must have a flamethrower ASAP, there are others available. USA Today points out the XM42-M from Ion Productions Team that's a bit more expensive at $899, but promises a range of over 30 feet. If it absolutely must be Musk, however, don't despair -- he tweeted that a "snowthrower" would be fun.
Elon Musk's Boring Company is selling a flamethrower
No, we're not kidding. After weeks of teases, Elon Musk has confirmed that The Boring Company is selling... a flamethrower. That's right, the same company digging traffic-skipping tunnels is now offering a weapon. Plunk down $500 for a pre-order (there's no word on when it will ship) and you can have the "world's safest" fire-breathing weapon. Just in case it isn't safe enough, though, there's also a $30 branded fire extinguisher.
Elon Musk's second LA tunnel faces criticism from local government
Elon Musk's Boring Company hasn't finished digging its first LA-area tunnel, but it's already talking about a second... and it's facing some resistance. The startup has pitched Culver City's council on a 6.5-mile "proof of process" tunnel between the town and LA that would gauge its ability to build across jurisdictions, which is rather vital when you're planning large-scale transportation systems. This wouldn't be as focused on individual cars, however -- rather, the emphasis would be on mass transit that it has previously hinted at in vague terms.
Elon Musk's Boring Co. to bid on Chicago airport transit link
The Boring company will bid to build a transit link between O'Hare airport and downtown Chicago, CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter. The project, unveiled on November 28th by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, aims to provide commuters with a 20-minute option to taxi or Uber rides, which cost between $40 and $60. The project could run under or below ground, and will be bankrolled "entirely by the concessionaire" and not taxpayers, the city said.
