Boring Company Tunnel By Elon Musk Unveiled; Will It Revolutionize High-Speed Transportation?
The first ride inside Boring Company tunnel was clocked at 49 mph with a vision to reach 150 mph soon.
The biggest problem today is neither your job nor your future: it’s the never-ending traffic! But, the legendary personality of engineering, Elon Musk has now developed an innovative way to deal with this undefeated problem of traffic: a high-speed tunnel system.
Elon Musk founded an infrastructure and tunnel construction company, The Boring Company in 2016 and traffic congestion in Los Angeles is the inspiration behind founding this company.
The idea behind this high-speed tunnel started taking shape in his mind when he complained about the traffic in Los Angeles was driving him ‘nuts’.
A groundbreaking invention: Construction and Working
The prototype of the high-speed tunnel was unveiled in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening.
This high-speed tunnel is designed to transport cars at a very high speed around LA. as a demonstration to test out the invention, this tunnel is only 1.14 miles whose one end is located at a parking lot owned by Musk’s Space X and the other end in Hawthorne, California.
Employing advanced technologies for construction, this underground tunnel will use lifts to lower modified cars which will be placed into the tracks present underneath.
The demonstration tunnel itself took around $10 million to complete. Engineers have attached deployable wheels that will stabilize the vehicle allowing it to travel at such high speeds.
These wheels will take care of the alignment of the vehicle, protecting it from running into the side walls of the small tunnel.
The First Ride Through The Tunnel
Tesla’s Model X SUV rode through the tunnel at a speed of 49 mph, which will later go as far as 150 mph.
While the first journey was a bit bumpy, which was due to some problems in the paving machine, Musk promises a ‘smooth as glass’ journey eventually.
Any autonomous cars will be able to employ these $ 200 to 300 worth attachments, which will not obstruct the vehicle from functioning normally.
Musk defined the tunnel as “an actual solution to the soul-crushing burden of traffic”, and explained that even if the driver of the vehicle goes through any problems while controlling the vehicle, it will stay on the tracks without drifting.
He said, “If a driver passes out or goes crazy those tracking wheels ensure the car stays on track.”
While in India, the concept of Hyperloop has already started to take shape, wherein one can travel from Mumbai to Pune in a mere 20 minutes or so. If completed within the promised time, India will become the first country to get a Hyperloop system of transportation. Read all about it here.
