Last Sunday, Elon Musk held talks with Eric Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angeles, about The Boring Company and a plan to dig a tunnel network under the city to get rid of traffic and possibly even carrying a Hyperloop track.
The CEO of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX tweeted he had “promising conversations” with the Democrat leader. Garcetti has been known among his constituents for making progressive changes like passing $15 minimum wage legislation in the city, the first in the U.S. to do so.
It serves Elon Musk well that Los Angeles is in California, one of the most open-minded states in the country where his other ventures have been exceedingly well received. Tesla cars and SolarCity tiles show booming sales in the Golden State.
Garcetti is keen on the idea of Boring Co. tunnels in L.A.
Following his conversation with Musk over the weekend, the L.A. mayor swung by Eyewitness Newsmakers on ABC7 to talk about the infamous traffic of the city and some potential solutions going forward:
“LIKE MANY OTHER CITIES HAVE, I’D LOVE TO SEE, MAYBE EVEN WITH THE NEW TUNNELING TECHNOLOGY THAT PEOPLE LIKE ELON MUSK IS LOOKING AT, WHETHER WE CAN HAVE A DIRECT ROUTE FROM LAX TO UNION STATION.”
Just five minutes away from LAX, the headquarters of The Boring Company host a bunch of workers developing the technology that Musk believes could get rid of traffic someday.
Many have told off Musk’s endeavors in the past, but he has proven people wrong time and time again with every new product or company he launches. Garcetti’s endorsement is proof that skepticism is receding and interest for innovation is prevailing.
Musk says permits are harder than technology
Nevertheless, there are inherent obstacles to those who wish to make fast-paced progress. Elon Musk knows this better than anyone, and he highlighted the fact yet again on a tweet on Sunday saying permits were harder to get than developing the technology.
The Boring Company is already digging a test tunnel several miles away from L.A., at SpaceX’s campus in Hawthorne, California. These same spaces served for Hyperloop test tracks last year as well.
Elon Musk says his boring machines are four to five times more efficient at digging than current industry standards, and he revealed last month a prototype vehicle designed to carry passengers on the tracks where cars would also escape traffic at neck-breaking speeds.
Getting that prototype tunnel to reach L.A. is a long way ahead for The Boring Company, and that’s considering that they would do it in the same state. Up to 30 tunnels can stack on top of one another, and even a Hyperloop could run through its tracks if accommodated accordingly.
Source: Twitter